Lies Revealed and Lives Renewed
by PolarisJ
Summary: Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, Gryffindor Golden Boy - that's him, right? It had to be true. Who else could he be? Harry discovers news that will change everything he thought he knew. His revelation will lead him on a journey to find family, realize who his real friends are, and achieve things he couldn't have imagined before.
1. Chapter 1

**New story! Umm... well, there's Dark!Harry, Evil!Dumbledore, Good!Voldemort, Good!Malfoys, Good!Death Eaters in general. Umm... Weasley bashing, Sirius bashing, Potter bashing, basically Order bashing. I don't like the Order *shrugs*.**

 **Moving on, I obviously own nothing and everything belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling.**

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Harry woke up with a start, searching his surroundings with his eyes and trying to remember where he was but failing to do so. The last thing he remembered was a wand aimed at his face. He tried to get out of the bed he was in but found himself tugged back by his arm. He looked at it to find some sort of magical bind keeping him on the bed. He frantically pulled against it, trying to pull himself free but not succeeding. When he finally gave up at pulling himself free, he took the time to observe the room he was in.

The room had light brown walls, soft and appealing to the eye. The floor was made from black marble, and Harry could see his reflection on it. The bed he was in was a four-poster king-sized black bed with green silk sheets, very comfortable with its many pillows. On either side of the bed, there were two black nightstands. He noticed that the bed and nightstands were on an elevated part of the floor, making it look a bit grandiose.

His attention then turned to the wall in front of him, there was a giant Slytherin crest on the wall, in between two doors. The doors were black with silver handles. There was another similar door to his right, except that one held a silver snake sculpture above it. The snake was coiled in the shape of a sideways eight with its head resting in the middle. Its eyes were made of emerald and shined brightly. Harry could only guess what lay behind all three doors. Finally, there was a fireplace to his left. All in all, it was a very simple bedroom. There wasn't even a desk or vanity!

But did it matter? He was looking for a way out. It's not like he wanted to stay here! Wherever here was...

Suddenly, the door to his right opened and a man entered, carrying a tray with food on it. The man looked at him and smiled, "good. You're awake"

"Who are you?! Where am I?! What did you do to me?!" Harry shouted angrily.

"Calm down, Harry. I didn't do anything to you. You're safe here," the man said as he placed the tray of food on Harry's bedside table.

Harry didn't listen though, and started shouting again, "how can I be safe when I don't even know where I am?! And you didn't answer me! Who are you?! Where am I?! Let me go!"

"I will only anssssswer you if you calm down," the man hissed, unbeknownst to Harry, in parseltongue.

Harry immediately calmed down and stared at the man in front of him with wide eyes.

"Ah. Still works. It was one of my favorite ways to interact with you as a child. You seemed to always respond better this way"

Harry moved to protest but the man held up a hand to stop him, "eat. I'll answer your previous questions then"

Harry eyed the food suspiciously.

"It's only food," said the man gently.

Harry finally submitted when his stomach growled aggressively. He only took the toast, though, and nibbled on it. The man sighed, "guess that's as much as I'll convince you to eat at the moment"

Harry took the opportunity to observe the man. He had wavy black hair, graying at the temples, which he combed back stylishly to the base of his neck. His sharp, aristocratic features were complimented by the intelligent glint in his dark brown eyes, which were shining with amusement and other emotions Harry couldn't quite put his finger on. The man's healthy pale complexion was only interrupted by his thin, pink lips, set in a small smile. His high cheekbones and smooth jawbone only added to the sharpness and magnificence of his image. The only signs of the man's age were the deep laugh lines and frown lines littering his face, which, instead of lessening his attractiveness, only added to it. Whoever this man was, he looked the picture of sophistication as he sat there in front of Harry, in the most expensive looking robes.

As Harry studied the man in front of him, he felt himself relax. For some inexplicable reason, he felt safe.

After what seemed like an eternity, the man finally spoke, "I believe you already know who I am. My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort"

Harry's eyes widened as he tried to register that this man was the Dark Lord. He didn't know what to feel. This man, who was so different than the snake looking monster he'd seen at the graveyard, claimed to be the same person. It seemed crazy, but then again, nothing was too crazy when it came to magic. Harry didn't know what to do, so he decided to settle on the most obvious reaction. At last, Harry settled on anger.

"You won't get away with this, Voldemort! Dumbledore will find you! He'll save me! And that will be the end of y.."

Suddenly, Harry couldn't talk anymore. He gaped, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to formulate words but to no avail. Tom sighed, "I grow tired of hearing you talk about Dumbledore. The old coot couldn't care less about you. He's just using you to get to me. He's been lying to you your whole life. If you're willing to learn the truth, then I would be glad to tell you. Now. If I take the spell off of you, will you speak of something other than that dreadful old man?"

Harry considered his choices, finally deciding after a moment that he might as well listen to what Tom had to offer in a bid to stall and give more time for Dumbledore to rescue him. He saw Tom's smile grow in size and wondered for a moment what the man could be so happy about. When he finally nodded to Tom's condition, the spell was undone and he felt his ability to talk return to him, "why did you bring me here? Why didn't you kill me already?" Harry asked in a hoarse voice.

Tom snorted, "why would I want to kill you? Because of that prophecy? It means nothing. The prophecy is false. It was not a real sear who made it. Even if it was real, there are many ways to interpret a prophecy. As for why I brought you here, it's because I wanted to be able to have a conversation with you"

"Why?" Harry asked suspiciously, storing the information Tom spoke about to revisit later.

"The Light side has been feeding you lies since they took you. I want to set things straight"

"What things?"

Tom reached into his pockets and pulled out a potion. He took an empty bowel from the tray, poured the potion in it, and placed it in front of Harry. He reached into his pockets again and pulled out a dagger and a roll of parchment. Harry looked warily at the dagger but Tom didn't pay it much attention.

"This, Harry, is a family identification potion. You spill three drops of your blood into it and wait for it to turn red. You then spill a bit of it on the parchment. It will then identify your parents before listing all your living direct relatives"

"Why would I need a family identification potion?"

"How about you do the test before we talk?"

"I know who my parents are. My parents are James and Lily Potter. I don't need a family identification potion," Harry spoke with false conviction. The fact that Tom had even introduced the fact that James and Lily are not his real parents, even though indirectly, actually had Harry nervously question that fact. Why would Tom ask him to do the paternity test if he didn't question his heritage?

"If you're so sure, then you wouldn't have any reason not to do the test"

"What if I don't want to?"

"You either do it yourself, or I do it for you"

Harry glared at Tom before taking the dagger from his hand. He took a reassuring breath. _James and Lily are my parents_ , he repeated in his head. He hesitated fleetingly before cutting his palm and reluctantly dropping the three drops of blood. He waited a few seconds for the potion to turn red before he spilled a little of it on the parchment. The parchment glowed a golden color and Harry held his breath as he waited. Once the glow stopped, Tom snatched the parchment, not letting Harry see it.

"I never doubted it, here," he handed it back to Harry. Harry slowly took it, dread settling in the pit of his stomach as he finally summoned whatever Gryffindor courage he had to read it.

 _ **Name:** Serpens Thomas Black_

 _ **Father:** Tom Marvolo Riddle_

 _ **Mother:** Bellatrix Druella Black_

 _ **Relatives:**_

 _Orion Marvolo Black_

 _Narcissa Malfoy_

 _Andromeda Tonks_

 _Draco Malfoy_

 _Nymphadora Tonks_

 _Sirius Black_

Harry stared at the parchment, shock etched all over his face. "How could this be?" He choked out.

"It's a very long story. Are you willing to hear it all?"

"I want to know how this happened!" Harry demanded angrily.

"I'll start at the beginning then"

Harry grunted, but that was the only indication he was listening.

Tom took a deep calming breath before starting to tell his story, "I always thought myself above love. It wasn't until your mother that that changed. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't love at first sight for me at all. I am above that. No. Your mother was one of my followers, the most loyal, the most hardworking. She was meant to marry Rodolophos Lestrange. I took her on as an apprentice, my own prodigy, and she was brilliant. Nothing I could teach was too difficult for her. She was a superb student, Death Eater, and witch in general. She wanted to impress me, and she succeeded. I believe she loved me from the start.

"Life went on and she became a part of my inner circle. Nothing really changed in the dynamic of our relationship, not until a difficult mission in which she almost died and I suffered a deep injury. That's when I took her as a lover. I will spare you the details. I don't think you would really appreciate listening to me speak about my love life with your mother.

"Anyways. Our first born was an accident. We didn't mean for it to happen. I'll admit I was against the whole thing, even ordered your mother to have an abortion. That was the first time your mother stood up to me and disobeyed me. She would not kill her own child, she had said.

"I was furious, said I held no responsibility to her or her child. She was shaken, afraid of motherhood, afraid of losing me, afraid of the responsibility, afraid of everything at that point, but she would not give up her child, not for anything. It's a weird thing, motherhood, gives the woman courage to face all the monsters of the world to protect her child.

"Your sister was born a few months later. I hadn't been planning on it, but I visited your mother after the birth. My curiosity was burning and I wanted to see the child. Your mother was surprised, I wouldn't blame her. I hadn't spoken to her once after our fight, didn't even look at her. I dismissed her and the child completely. But I could tell she was overjoyed when I visited. She'd held the baby out to me, and when I looked down, the most amazing thing happened.

"Your sister was a metamorphmagus, and upon seeing me, her eyes became a slitted red. I spoke to her in parseltongue then, and she understood what I'd said. Even more, I could feel the power radiating off of her. We named her Polaris Bella Black. She was enough for us. A beautiful little thing.

"Two years later, Bellatrix fell pregnant again. That time, I wasn't as strongly opposing to the pregnancy as I was with Polaris. Still, I opposed it. I thought Polaris was all we needed.

"Then you were born, and the first thing you did was glare at me for waking you up. You didn't share your sister's metamorphmagi gift. But when I spoke to you in parseltongue, wanting to see if you would understand, you shocked me by repeating after me before ignoring me and snuggling into my arms to continue sleeping. I knew then that magic had chosen you to become Slytherin's heir.

"You were only a few months old when your mother fell pregnant again. At that point, I gave up on resisting the pregnancy. I knew I couldn't fight it, so I embraced it, but before your brother was born, a raid was conducted by the Order on Lestrange Manor, where your mother was staying with you and your sister at the time.

"Rodolphus LeStrange saved your mother by taking her and apparating to Malfoy Manor. He was mostly concerned about the unborn child and your mother, who he has an infatuation for. He then went back with Lucius Malfoy for you and your sister, but it was too late. The Order killed Polaris and took you away.

"Bellatrix was devastated. I was furious. I punished Rodolphus severely, increased the number of Death Eater raids, hunted down Order members and killed them when they proved worthless in my investigation.

"It was Severus Snape who finally got me a lead, found out that you were with the Potters. You gave them a hard time from what I heard. You were always angry, which meant accidental magic, mostly aimed at the Potters. Bellatrix gave birth to Orion around the time that I finally located you.

"Orion's birth relieved some of the pain, but it was still too much. I knew that I had to get you back as soon as possible. It was two weeks after Orion's birth that I went to Godric's Hollow. It was the reason I was there on that Halloween night"

By the end of the story, Tom's face was anguished and Harry was sobbing silently. "This can't be true," Harry sobbed. Tom got up from the chair he was sitting on and moved to sit next to Harry on the bed. He pulled Harry, who was fighting against him, to his chest, holding him tightly as the boy struggled against him.

Much to his horror, Harry actually felt protected and loved in Tom's embrace, making him stop struggling just the tiniest bit. "It is true, Harry. Everything I spoke is true. You just need to look into your mind," Tom spoke. Too fast for Harry to notice, Tom pulled out his wand and aimed it at him, murmuring softly, "Leglimens"

Harry gasped. It was as if there was a sudden presence in his head, looking through his memories and pulling out everything from the deepest corners, as if searching for something. Finally, the presence found what it was searching for, a huge mental wall. The presence broke through the wall forcefully, making Harry dizzy. Once the wall was broken, memories from Harry's early childhood spilled forth. There were memories of Harry sitting on Tom's lap, listening as he spoke in parseltongue; memories of being rocked to sleep in a beautiful woman's arms; memories of a toddler patting him affectionately on the head. As suddenly as the presence appeared, it left his head, leaving a devastated Harry whimpering and hiding his face in Tom's neck.

"Daddy," he hissed in parseltongue, his voice coming out broken with tears.

"Shh. It's alright. Daddy's here. You're safe now. No one will take you away again. It's alright. I'm here. Soon, Mummy will be here too," Tom hissed back comfortingly. He rubbed Harry's back soothingly, in the same manner he knew his lover used when Harry was a baby.

"Daddy, I'm sorry," Harry cried, clinging to Tom as if he would disappear.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. It isn't your fault. It's Dumbledore's. We will make him pay for it. All of us. He'll pay for what he did. I promise you that, Serpens"

Harry sobbed more at the use of his birth name. He couldn't believe Dumbledore could do such a thing. The Potters, either. His whole life was a lie. Everyone lied to him. Dumbledore lied to him. Sirius lied to him. Remus lied to him. He wasn't James Potter's son. He wasn't Gryffindor's hero. He was Draco Malfoy's family. He was Tom Riddle's son. He was the heir of Slytherin.

Harry's head was a mess, but after being comforted and held lovingly, he started to calm down. Sometime later, Harry summoned the courage to speak. "Daddy?" He whispered.

"Yes, Harry?"

Harry felt Tom's chest vibrate when he spoke, it brought him just a bit more comfort.

"What happened to Orion?"

"He's safe. Bella and I entrusted him to the Malfoy's care. Anyways, Orion's currently at Hogwarts. He got sorted into Slytherin"

"You don't worry someone might discover he's your son? I mean, the records would say his father's name is Tom Riddle after all"

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough. No one outside the pureblood circles knows Orion's father's name"

"Oh. Why did you give him to the Malfoys?"

"Narcissa Malfoy is your maternal aunt, which makes Draco your cousin"

Harry cringed. He unknowingly hurt and ruined his connection to his family. He sniffled slightly and buried his face in his father's chest.

"It's alright, Harry. I'm sure Draco would understand once you tell him your side of the story"

"I hope so"

Silence fell between father and son then, until it was interrupted by a soothing hissing sound. Tom rocked Harry gently as he hissed a lullaby in parseltongue, allowing Harry to finally calm down enough and lull to a dreamless sleep.

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 **Reviews would be nice I guess. Suggestions too. I love to hear how I can make my writing/story better.**


	2. Chapter 2

**New chapter. Still own nothing.**

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Bright, blinding light was the first thing to hit Harry's eyes when he woke again. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light, before taking a look around. Realizing that Tom must have taken his glasses off as his vision was blurred, Harry patted his hand haphazardly on the bedside table, until it finally landed on his glasses. Harry placed them on his face before he looked around the room again. He really needed to use the bathroom, but which door was that? And what about the magical bond?

He turned to look at his hand, only to find the bond gone. Deciding to get up and search for the toilet, Harry moved to the wall with two doors. He opened the one on the left first, gasping at what he saw, an expansive walk-in closet with an insane number of all types of clothes. Harry had never been vain, but even he had to admit that the closet was something to be loved.

He shook his head, deciding to go back to his original quest. Moving out of the closet, he headed to the door on the right of the Slytherin crest. He opened it to find precisely what he was looking for. The bathroom was spacious, with a jacuzzi sized sunken bathtub in the back, a glass shower right in the middle of the bathroom, a black sink on the left side, and the toilet, also black in color, on the right. Again, the floor was black marble; the walls, however, were a calm white. The back wall, the one behind the bathtub, was charmed to depict a relaxing scene of the ocean. Harry found himself entranced with it all.

For someone who shared a bathroom his entire life, this was more than he could wish for. He closed the door behind himself and decided that a quick soak in the bathtub wouldn't harm anyone. He allowed himself to relax all his muscles and release all the pent-up tension in the hot water. After what seemed like an eternity in the tub, Harry finally got out, wrapping himself in the black bathrobe he found hanging next to the tub. He exited the bathroom just to find Tom resting on the bed. Harry stared warily at him, unsure on what he was supposed to do. Suddenly, Tom spoke, "get dressed. We'll talk after"

Startled, Harry jumped and moved quickly to the closet. Tom had had his eyes closed; how did he notice him? No matter. Harry searched for underwear and something comfortable to wear. After searching the closet, he found a pair of black cotton pajama pants and a deep green silk robe. He put them on and went back to the bedroom. Taking a moment to observe Tom, Harry noticed the man looked exhausted, as if he hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep.

Finally, Tom stood and walked to the door with the silver snake sculpture, "I'm sure you have many questions. Come with me. We can talk in my study. There's tea waiting for you there"

Harry nodded and reluctantly followed after him. As he crossed through the door, he found himself in a spacious living room. The floors were black marble, again, but the walls were a calm creme color. The ceiling, Harry noticed, was enchanted to show the sky outside, just like the Grand Hall at Hogwarts. To the right, there was a fireplace with extravagant carvings, a black leather couch was facing it with a small glass coffee table in between. Behind the couch, on the left wall, was a black door with the same silver snake as the one in the bedroom. Glancing at the door he just exited from, he found the snake again. Harry's inspection was interrupted by Tom's voice, "the door to the left opens to your personal study. The snakes are locks. You can only open them by speaking in Parseltongue. The only exception to this is your mother; the lock will open when it detects her magical signature. You don't have to unlock it when you want to exit. If a non-speaker wants to enter, they must wait for you to grant them access from the inside by speaking in parseltongue. As you can tell, this whole suite is yours"

Harry nodded solemnly, he still felt lost after all the revelations of the day before. Or was it night before?

"How long have I been sleeping?" Harry asked softly, voice barely above a whisper.

Understanding what Harry really wanted, Tom answered, "you were unconscious for ten hours after the events of the cemetery. It's four in the afternoon now, which means you slept for seven more hours after our conversation"

"I wouldn't call it a conversation," Harry snorted.

"There was only silence after that as Tom lead Harry around the giant manor they were in. Harry payed attention to the way, trying to remember so that he wouldn't get lost later on. It was too confusing, however, and he knew he would not find his way back.

"I'll give you a tour of the house later and accompany you until you learn your way. Your brother comes back in a few days, so he can help you as well. You should know, we don't have any house elves, so you'll have to excuse the dreadful food. I'm afraid I have no prowess in the kitchen. Your mother was always better than me in that area"

"Why don't you have house elves? I thought someone as rich and powerful as you would enjoy having one"

"Other than the fact that they lack proper speech, I find most of them to be untrustworthy. You are all too familiar with the situation with Dobby, for example"

Harry nodded. It made sense. But then, his mother, this Bellatrix, was a pureblood, from the Black family no less. Would such a pureblood accept doing house duties?

As if reading his mind, and Harry realized he probably did, Tom explained further, "up until your sister came along, Bellatrix and I were perfectly content living with no one to serve us. We only used a few rooms and it wasn't that hard to keep everything clean. Bellatrix also seemed to enjoy cooking, so it wasn't a big deal. It was after Polaris was born that the need for servants came along, so I finally decided to buy a few house elves then. However, I was, and still am, extremely selective with those I decide to bring into my home. I put spells on them to ensure that they would serve us and only us. Each of them was tied to one of us. The elves tied to Polaris and me supposedly died when we died. I have yet to see what happened to Bella's elf. Your own should still be alive. You can try calling out to him later. His name is Tobby"

At that point, Tom and Harry had arrived in front of an extravagant wooden door with carvings of snakes.

"Open," Tom hissed in parseltongue. The door opened to reveal a beautiful large study. Tom waved for Harry to sit on the seat in front of the desk as he poured himself a glass of Firewhiskey. He placed a cup of warm tea in front of Harry before taking a seat behind the desk. Tom leaned back in his chair and stared at Harry, "what do you want to know?"

Harry thought hard about what he wanted to ask first. Finally, he settled on the most obvious, "what happens to me now?"

Tom took a sip of his whiskey before answering, "that's something you have to decide by yourself. I can tell you the options you have and what would result from them, but what you do is entirely up to you." Tom leaned closer to Harry before continuing, "option one: you pretend none of this ever happened. You pretend that I tortured you and that you escaped. You go back to the Light Side and blindly follow them again. In which case, I would have to neutralize you. I will not harm you. I refuse to harm my own son. Still, I will not allow for you to disrupt my plans. I would have to take you as a prisoner. Option two: you join the Dark Side, standing next to me as the Prince of Darkness and the Heir of Slytherin. This means that your whole life will be turned upside down as you come to uncover all the truths the Light and Dumbledore have kept from you. You will gain unlimited power and knowledge, as well as a respected position in the Pureblood circles. The price for your elevation would be that the people you care about will most probably leave you, but you will have your real family standing by your side. Option three: you take a neutral stance on the war. In that case, you would greatly frustrate Dumbledore. I would have to make you take a vow to not join the Light. You go about your life in whatever way you want to as if the war does not exist. This, however, does not stop the Light side from hunting you down. Option four: you disappear. You don't join the Dark Side nor the Light Side. You don't even show your face to anyone. You completely disappear. In that case, I will secure a residence for you, but no one can know. The Light Side will frantically search for you, including the people that claim to care for you. The Dark Side rejoices, although stays wary of your return. No one ever knows whether you're alive or dead. Your friends mourn, and you never get to meet your family"

Harry refused to look Tom in the eye as he sipped his tea. What do you do when your whole life is revealed to be a lie?

Tom sighed, "You have until the end of the month to make your decision, this gives you five days. I won't give you more time. I need to make plans. Until then, what other questions do you have?"

Harry looked up nervously, "can you tell me about Bellatrix?"

Tom moved abruptly, pulling out a photo album. He handed it to Harry, who opened it to see pictures of a beautiful young woman with wild black curly hair, full pouty lips, and lidded dark eyes. Tom smiled sadly as he watched Harry, "Bellatrix is... unique. She's wild and untamed. She's one of the strongest people I have ever met. Not even my toughest Death Eaters can stand up to her and come out as the victor. She's brilliant, her intellect had many men question themselves. She's passionate... don't make that face, I'm not talking about her as a lover... as I was saying, Bellatrix is incredibly passionate. Once she believes in something, she will fight for it to the death. She's also very loyal. She would die for the people she cares about. To be honest, she's the best witch you could ever meet"

Harry looked up from the album to stare at Tom. The older man never seemed as human as he did in that moment, speaking about the woman who held his heart. Then another thought entered his head and Harry's brows furrowed, "what happened to her?"

Tom's sad look turned into one of controlled rage, "she's in Azkaban. Have you heard of what happened to the Longbottoms?" Tom waited for Harry to answer with a quiet "no" before he continued, "Frank and Alice Longbottom, Neville Longbottom's parents, were tortured to insanity after my disappearance on Halloween. The ones responsible were four Death Eaters: Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, and Bartemius Crouch Jr. Due to the fact that she had Orion to care for, Bellatrix didn't want to go. She had even instructed Rodolphus not to go. The imbecile thought that by "avenging her children," he would gain Bella's affections, so he directly disobeyed orders from the Dark Lord's lover." Tom paused then, taking a moment to huff in annoyance. After a moment, Tom looked at Harry, who raised a questioning eyebrow, silently asking Tom to move on with the story.

"I believe Bella initially only went to reprimand Rodolphus, to force him to leave the Longbottoms alone, but then seeing them and the temptation of avenging her children got the best of her. You see, Frank and Alice Longbottom were two of the people present during the raid that killed Polaris. I guess she just couldn't get over her anguish. Obviously, the Light did not give her a fair trial and she was sent to Azkaban, along with Rodolphus and his brother, Rabastan. I plan on rescuing her and all my Death Eaters from that dreaded place. Rodolphus will be punished though"

Harry chewed on his lip anxiously. Sirius had been a mess after escaping from Azkaban. He tried to hide it, but Harry knew that even a year later, Sirius still suffered from the trauma he went through in that dreadful place. Bellatrix was still in there. What would she be like once she escaped? Would she be just like Tom described her or too traumatized to function? Would Tom save **all** the others?

"What about Rabastan and Bartemius?"

"You already know Barty Crouch Jr. He was undercover at Hogwarts this year as the DADA Professor. I believe you know of Polyjuice Potion and its uses, and you're intelligent enough to put the pieces together. Barty shall rejoin the ranks once the school year ends in a week. As for Rabastan, he's a good enough Death Eater although he can be a bit daft sometimes. I don't have any plans in regards to him at the moment"

Harry nodded understandingly. He mulled over Tom's answers before thinking of his next question, "how is Sirius related to me?"

"Ugh. That filthy mutt. He was your mother's cousin, up until he got disowned when he was sixteen"

"What about the two other people on the parchment? Tonks, I think that's their last name"

"Andromeda Tonks was your mother's sister. She was also disowned when she decided to run off, marry a muggleborn, and join Dumbledore and the Light. Nymphadora is her daughter"

Harry's next question came directly, "why did you give me Bellatrix's last name, not yours?"

"I didn't want to give you my filthy muggle father's name. It offered a way for me to leave behind that name. And we thought it was a great way to honor her pureblood heritage"

"When did you two get married?"

At that, Tom looked a bit sheepish, "we never did get married. It was never the right time. I plan on changing that once I rescue her"

Harry snorted at that bit of information. He can only imagine what sort of scandal it was in the pureblood community… to have three children out of wedlock… for some reason, it still seemed like the sort of thing that Tom would do...

Harry thought over what else he wanted to ask when a vital question entered his mind and he was alarmed that he'd only thought about it now. Tom could see the wheels turning in Harry's head and knew that he would have to answer the next question as explicitly as possible. The next words from Harry's lips left him a bit confused, however. "What about the Dark Arts?"

"What about them?"

"what 'what about them'?! You use Dark Magic, Tom! It means you perform and use evil! I can't be like that! I'm not evil!"

Tom nodded as he waited for Harry to finish his little rant before addressing the issue, "Harry, I want you to wholly understand what I'm about to tell you. There is no such thing as Dark Magic and Light Magic. Magic in and of itself is not evil or good. You can't label something inanimate as evil or good. It is the intent and use behind magic that can be described as Dark or Light. Mudbloods and the likes of Dumbledore are the ones who decided that what I and the other purebloods do is 'dark', simply because it did not sit well with them. They were uncomfortable with what we do so they labeled us and our traditions malicious and evil, even though most of what we do has a 'Light' equivalent or can be used for good. Take for example the family identification potion. It is labeled by the Light Side as dark simply because it needs blood to work, yet here it is revealing the truth to you. And just for your information, there is no Light equivalent of that potion. Thus, had you not used it, you never would have found out the truth. Another example is the Imperius. You have heard about it from Barty. It is considered Dark because it takes a person's will away from them, yet I have, and many wizards and witches before me, have used the Confundus Charm, which is not a Dark spell, to achieve the same result as the Imperius. What is it that makes this one different than the other? Nothing but how comfortable mudbloods are with them"

Harry gulped nervously. Tom's argument made sense. It made so much sense that Harry was suddenly frightened of himself as he reconsidered his ideals. Harry felt a headache coming on as he questioned everything he had ever been taught. He didn't know what was right and what was wrong anymore. What was he supposed to believe? What was he supposed to do? His whole world was turning around him and he had no constants to ground him through it. He was unsure of everything but one: he wanted to know more.

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 **Reviews very much welcomed**


	3. Chapter 3

**AAAAAAAANNDD, another chapter is up...**

* * *

Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes groggily as he made his way to the bathroom, where he took a quick shower before going to the closet. He had made sure to look through the closet. Unsurprisingly, most of the clothes were in shades of green, silver, grey, and black, with the exception of a number of colored clothes. He put on a pair of grey sweatpants and a green t-shirt, staring at himself in the mirror as he dried his hair and made himself more presentable; Tom made a great fuss when Harry didn't take care to look at least "presentable".

Harry made his way towards the small living room in his suite, where he knew Tom would be waiting. For the past few days, they'd formed a little routine. Harry would find Tom in his suite, then they'd make their way towards the informal dining room to eat the breakfast that Tobby the house-elf - who they discovered was indeed alive, although he had been in a catatonic state since the trauma of losing his masters and mistresses - prepared. Tom would read the Daily Prophet then converse with Harry about whatever he wanted to. After breakfast, Tom would leave Harry to his own devices, which actually translated to Harry listening to Nagini as she told him stories of his parents. Just before sunset, Tom would usually come find him and take him for a walk in the gardens, where they held a discussion about anything and everything as they watched the sun disappeared in a haze of red. Once that was over, they would make their way inside and have dinner before retiring to Tom's study, where Tom would drink a glass of Firewhiskey while Harry had a cup of tea. After that, Tom accompanied him back to his suite, where he would leave with a nod, a silent promise to be there the following day. Harry could see that Tom wanted more, wanted his son back, wanted Serpens back.

The past days had allowed Harry to see life from a different perspective, allowed him to see that the Dark Side wasn't entirely evil, allowed him to see all the different shades of grey he wasn't privy to under Dumbledore, allowed him to learn so much, but most importantly, it allowed him to see what it would be like to have Tom as a father. Harry had to admit that the prospect of having a loving family was too good to be true. It would only take five words. That was all it took. Five words and he'd have this perfect life.

Shaking his head to come back to reality, Harry left his bedroom, smiling when Tom turned to look at him and rolled his eyes. Tom had told him more than once that the muggle clothes were for training only and were not appropriate dresswear for the son of the Dark Lord and the Heir of Slytherin.

Tom turned and left, Harry following right behind him. Once they entered the dining room, Harry caught sight of bacon and grinned. He gobbled it up quickly, along with the eggs, before sipping his juice. Tom resisted the urge to hex his son because of the unmannerly way he was eating. There would be tie for that later, but right now, he wanted Harry to trust him enough to choose the Dark Side. After both were finished eating, Harry spoke confidently, "Tom?"

"Yes?"

"I choose the Dark Side"

Tom turned his attention to him immediately, a look of surprise on his face. He had expected that the boy would ask for more time to come to a decision, not find one before the deadline he had given him. Misinterpreting the surprised look for a want of explanation, Harry nodded and elaborated, "I don't want to go back to living a lie. The Light Side has been horrible to me. I mean, they bloody kidnapped me from my parents! I don't want to go back to that. I have few to go back to; only the Weasleys, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus. Here, I have a whole loving family that have been searching for me for years. Here, I gain a mother, a father, a brother, an aunt, a cousin. Not to mention that I would stand in my rightful place, not to be manipulated by anyone. I'm gaining real training and education. I'm gaining a proper home. I'm gaining connections for the future. I'm gaining friendships. I'm gaining everything. I have everything to gain here, and barely anything to lose there. Plus, if my friends really care about me, they would accept me as I am, not the Boy-Who-Lived, but the Prince of Darkness"

Tom stared at him with amusement, "I see you've named yourself as a prince"

Harry grinned, "well, my father is about to control all of Wizarding Britain"

Too fast for Harry to be able to protest, Tom pulled him into a hug, holding him close as he whispered happily, "my son"

"Does this mean that I have to call you 'Father'?"

"Father, Dad, Tom, it doesn't matter. You're my son. You're back where you belong. That's all that matters"

"What happens now?"

Tom pushed Harry away slightly in order to look him in the eyes. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he smirked, "now, I have a plan"

* * *

"Rita Skeeter? That imbecile? She..."

"Is a Death Eater. She can turn any piece of information to our favor. That's why she was horrible to you before. She will respect you now, since you're the Dark Prince"

* * *

 ** _NO BOY-WHO-LIVED, ONLY LIES_**

 _Rita Skeeter_

 _My dear readers, I have horrifying news of the utmost importance to deliver to you. I have no idea how such a thing should even be written._

 _Yesterday, I was invited to Malfoy Manor, where, to my surprise, I found not only the Malfoys, but also Harry Potter, the supposed Boy-Who-Lived, who has been missing for the past week or so. They lead me to the dining room, where a parchment, a dagger, and a potion were resting on the table. I watched as Harry Potter sat in front of them, preparing to cut himself._

 _When I asked what was going on, Lucius Malfoy had this to say, "it's the family identification potion. I ask you to pay close attention to its results and tell the world about it. Everyone must know what Albus Dumbledore has done."_

 _I was confused but did what I was asked to do. I watched as the Potter heir cut his palm and dropped three droplets of his blood in the potion. We waited as the potion turned red, and then Harry spilled it on the parchment. We waited again as the parchment glowed a golden color. Finally, when it was ready, Harry handed it to me. To my shock, the parchment did not read Harry James Potter, the son of James Charlus Potter and Lily Evans Potter. Instead, the parchment read,_ _ **Serpens Thomas Black**_ _, the son of Tom Marvolo Riddle and Bellatrix Black. I could not believe my eyes at first, but the paper was as real as the boy sitting in front of me, despair etched all over his face. I turned to the Malfoys to find them not doing much better. Narcissa Malfoy, who is Bellatrix Black's sister (making her Harry's maternal aunt), looked anguished as she moved to hold young Harry in a tight embrace. Lucius Malfoy, on the other hand, was furious._

 _"I have managed to gain custody of my nephew. This does not mean that all is forgiven. Young Serpens has suffered for most of his life as a result of this deceit. I want to know why no effort was put into finding his real family. I want to know why he was not returned to us when he was first found. I want to know who was responsible for Serpens' disappearance. I want them to pay for all the suffering they have caused my family. I won't stop there, however. I'm coming after all the people that have allowed for him to suffer. First of them all is Albus Dumbledore, who was Serpens' magical guardian when he was going by Harry Potter. Dumbledore placed him with abusive muggles and didn't check on him once. I have proof that Serpens is malnourished, dehydrated, and has faced physical and emotional abuse. Where was Dumbledore? Why did he not check up on Serpens? Why did he not protect him as a magical guardian should?"_

 _At that point, Serpens [Harry] was sobbing softly into his aunt's arms. When asked what she thought about this, Narcissa Malfoy had this to say, "I lost over a decade's worth of time with my nephew. He lost over a decade's worth of love and care. My poor nephew had to face horrors he wouldn't have had to otherwise. My family lost so much because of this trickery, and I won't stand for it."_

 _When he calmed down a bit, Serpens wiped his bloodshot eyes and stared brokenly at his hands. He spoke in a small, scared voice as he said, "my whole life, I wished someone would take me from the muggle family I was with. Their treatment to me was worse than that of a house-elf. All I ever wanted was for someone to take me away. Now I find out that I shouldn't have spent a single day with them because I have a family right here, a family that cares about me and loves me. I have a mother. She's sitting in Azkaban right now, but she sacrificed so much for me. I have a father. I don't know who he is, but Lucius promised to help me find him. But that doesn't really matter as much as the fact that I have a family that searched for me, a family that loves me." By the end of his little speech, Serpens had started crying again, hiding his face in his aunt's neck._

 _My dear readers, I cannot begin to fathom how upstanding citizens like the Malfoys had to suffer such a fate. How did an innocent boy get placed with abusive muggles when he has a loving family searching for him? How did this happen? I, for one, am starting to seriously question our Ministry and Albus Dumbledore._

 _For more on Harry Potter... page 12_

 _For more on the Malfoys... page 14_

 _For more on Bellatrix Black... page 16_

 _For more on Albus Dumbledore... page 18_

* * *

Harry grinned as he read the Daily Prophet. Everything was going according to plan. He glanced at Tom, who was smirking, and couldn't help but feel hope.

* * *

Owls rushed into the Grand Hall, dropping copies of the _Daily Prophet_ to everyone, meaning that there was breaking news. Dumbledore had just started delivering his End-of-Year speech when it happened. He decided to go back to his seat and read whatever it was first before going back to the speech. Complete silence fell over the Grand Hall as everyone read their copy. Dumbledore cursed silently as he read his. He looked over his half-moon spectacles, knowing that in a few moments, all hell would break loose.

The silence was broken all at once. The Gryffindors were angrily accusing Harry and the Malfoys of being liars. The only exceptions were the Weasleys and Hermione Granger, who all looked to be in disbelief. The Hufflepuffs were all murmuring, shocked that such things could happen and that their own Headmaster would allow and promote it. Some of them were glaring at said Headmaster as they talked. The Ravenclaws were openly discussing how Dumbledore had failed in protecting his ward and that such a man was not fit to be Headmaster. The Slytherins were a whole other case. They all looked furious, and half of them were arguing with the Gryffindors. The other half of them were glaring at Dumbledore, muttering about the Headmaster being a disgrace to wizard kind and how he should be in Azkaban. Draco Malfoy, though, looked torn between anger, shock, and hatred. To his right sat his cousin, Orion Black, who looked to be feeling just the same as Draco.

Dumbledore quickly scanned the faces of his teachers; Minerva looked absolutely livid, Severus looked like he was about to commit homicide, Pomona looked to be in disbelief, Filius was in shock.

Dumbledore stood up, about to escape to his office, when a curse was sent his way. He quickly deflected it and turned, wide eyed, searching for the person who cast it. He found Draco Malfoy standing on top of the Slytherin table, his wand aimed at him.

"Oh, no, you don't, you old bastard! You will not run away! You will wait here for the Aurors to take you!"

Dumbledore was about to speak when, suddenly, half of the Slytherin table were standing with their wands aimed at him, at their head was the Malfoy heir, with Orion, Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott. The other half of the Slytherins were aiming their wands at the Gryffindors that had their wands out. "Lower your wands! You have nothing to do with this!" A Slytherin screamed at the Gryffindors.

"Neither do you! But you're aiming your wands at our Headmaster and the Leader of the Light!" A Gryffindor screamed right back.

"We have everything to do with this! The Malfoys are part of us! Serpens is one of us!"

"Harry is a Gryffindor!"

Dumbledore ignored them and focused on the Slytherins with their wands aimed at him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the Ravenclaws rise one by one and aim their own wands either at Dumbledore or at the Gryffindors. The Hufflepuffs did not draw out their wands, looking torn between their loyalty to their Headmaster and their sense of morality.

Dumbledore knew that if he wanted to, he could just disappear, but he also knew how incriminating it would be. Acquitting himself socially and lawfully was key at the moment and running away was not the correct course of action to do so. Dumbledore stood there, trying to think of what to do, when the doors to the Grand Hall were thrown open. "Albus Dumbledore! You are under arrest!" Seven Aurors had made to enter the Grand Hall, only to stop, dead on their tracks, at the sight in front of them.

"Well!" Draco screamed angrily, "what are you waiting for?! Arrest him!" He screeched at the Aurors, who snapped back to reality and walked up to the high table.

The last thing Dumbledore heard before being pushed outside the Hall was an Auror's voice, "Draco Malfoy and Orion Black! Lord Malfoy has required your immediate return home with the company of an Auror!"

If there was one thing Dumbledore knew, it was that he was in trouble...

* * *

The magical community was in a disarray. Not too long after the _Prophet_ was delivered, protests started outside the Ministry. The overwhelming majority of the protestors were demanding for Dumbledore to be punished, while the rest was questioning the Malfoys. All in all, chaos was quickly absorbing the Ministry and citizens alike.

* * *

 **Reviews welcome**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh my God, this took so long! Welp, hopefully you guys will love it...**

* * *

"AUNT NARCISSA! Where is he?! Where's Serpens?!"

A thirteen-year-old shouted as he entered his Uncle's manor. The boy's soft, black curly hair, usually combed back neatly, bordered his pale face, a result of his constant nervous tugging. His face was almost perfect, with his high aristocratic cheekbones and smooth defined jawbones. To anyone else, his gorgeousness might have been intimidating, but not to his family. His pink, full, pouty lips were curled in a snarl, "how dare that old coot do this to my brother?! How dare he touch a hair on his head?!" Anger radiated off of him, and his usually brown eyes were glowing blood red. Behind him stood Draco, his fists clenching and opening as he tried to calm himself.

"Orion! Control yourself! Since when did we start screaming bloody murder when we're angry?!" Narcissa bit out as she glided down the stairs.

Orion closed his eyes, taking in a calming breath and fighting to control his temper. He strengthened his Occlumency shields and hid all his emotions behind them. Once he was sure he wouldn't explode with anger, he opened his eyes again. Narcissa smiled when she saw their familiar brown color, "the Dark Lord is on his way with Serpens. Your introduction to Serpens would have to be short as he and Lucius should be heading to the court in a few moments. The Dark Lord will be staying though, so you'll get to meet your father"

Orion's breath caught in his throat. He'd been dreaming about this ever since he was old enough to understand that his father was the Dark Lord. "I have to get ready," he spoke, wasting no time in running to his room. He took a quick shower, combed his hair back neatly, dressed in his finest robes and scoured his teeth. He was done just in time, it seemed, as a house elf appeared in the room. "Young Master must go to the dining room," it said. Orion nodded before starting to make his way to the formal dining room. He stopped outside the door, taking a reassuring breath. He heard a deep, silky voice then, a voice he had never heard before, a voice he was sure belonged to his father, "what of his education?"

"Narcissa, Severus, and I have each taught him, along with Draco, the subjects of Hogwarts, with a few added essentials. I taught them Politics, History, Astronomy, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Narcissa taught them proper etiquette, Charms, Transfiguration, basic healing and care for Magical creatures. Severus taught them Potions, Herbology, dueling, and Occlumency," Lucius' voice came.

"You have not taught them the Dark Arts or Leglimancy"

"No, My Lord. We thought you could teach them that better than we could"

Suddenly, the door Orion was standing behind flew open to reveal him. Orion gulped, he knew he should've entered the moment he arrived instead of just eavesdropping. He stared at the people in the room, Uncle Lucius, Aunt Cissa, Draco, Serpens (Harry)... and his father.

Orion tried to look confident as he entered the room. He wanted to set a good impression on his father. His eyes almost grew to the size of saucers when his father stood up and started walking towards him though. He hoped his father would accept him and be proud of him. But before that, what was he supposed to do now? Should he hug him? No. That's absurd. His father is the Dark Lord. Dark Lords don't hug. A handshake. Yes. Orion held out his hand once he was standing in front of his father.

Tom looked down at the proffered hand, reached out and used it to pull his son into a hug. Orion was surprised at first but quickly relaxed into the hug. This was his father. He was finally with his father again.

"Father," Orion said softly, holding onto Tom's robes. Tom smiled gently, "my son. You've grown up. I've missed so much of your life. Never again..."

They separated after a few minutes, Tom being the first to pull back. He glanced behind him at Harry and waved for him to join them. Harry approached them timidly. How do you introduce yourself to your long-lost brother?

"Orion, this is your brother," Tom introduced.

Orion smiled, of course he knew Harry, everyone in Hogwarts knew Harry, but Orion knew him in another way. Orion knew him from the Quidditch field. Harry was Gryffindor's seeker, but Orion was Slytherin's. When Orion had entered his second year at Hogwarts, Draco had begrudgingly admitted that Orion was a better seeker than him, forfeiting his position in the team for the Black heir. That didn't mean Draco wasn't in the team though, the Malfoy heir had become a beater instead. Ever since, the Slytherin-Gryffindor matches really depended on luck as both seekers had the same amount of talent.

"Should I yell Potter or Serpens when we play now?" Orion asked jokingly.

Harry grinned, "I think Black would do just fine, brother"

A loud bark of laughter escaped both boys, and Orion could already tell that he and his brother would be close.

Lucius cleared his throat behind them, gaining their attention, "I apologize for interrupting, but Serpens and I must make our way to the trial"

Orion nodded before pulling Harry into a hug, "give Dumbledork hell," he whispered in his brother's ear. Harry smiled, tightening his hold just a little before pulling away. Tom squeezed Harry's shoulder reassuringly before pushing him towards Lucius.

* * *

"Albus Dumbledore, do you consent to the use of Veritaserum?"

Dumbledore thought about it for a moment. Not consenting would immediately raise all the red flags he was trying to keep down. He would need to take the Veritaserum and rely only on half-truths. Unbeknownst to Dumbledore, the Judge was a trained Death Eater, already in full knowledge of the situation and ready to squirm the truth out of the old coot.

Upon the administration of the potion, the judge waited for a few moments, giving the potion time to work, before speaking, "I will start with simple questions to make sure it's working. What is your full name?"

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore"

"In what year were you born?"

"1881"

"Alright, it's working. Albus Dumbledore, is it true that you left Serpens Thomas Black, previously known as Harry James Potter, with abusive muggles?"

"Yes"

"Why did you do it?"

"To keep pretending that he was James and Lily Potter's son and make him emotionally weaker"

"Why?"

"So I can control him"

Almost everyone present in the room gasped. How could this be?

"Did you know that Harry Potter was actually the son of Bellatrix Black?"

"Yes"

"Why did you not send the child to the Malfoys?"

"Because they're Death Eaters and would have raised Harry in the dark side"

"Did you know that the Malfoys were found not guilty due to being Imperioed?"

"Yes"

"How did you acquire custody of Serpens Thomas Black?"

"I conducted a raid with the Order on Lestrange Manor. He was there. I took him"

"Did you know who he was?"

"Yes"

"Was his mother present in the manor when you took him?"

"Yes"

A wizard in the back of the room shouted then, "kidnap! He's kidnapped the child!"

"Silence!" The judge cried, "Dumbledore, were you planning on kidnapping the child or was it a spur of the moment decision?"

"I planned it"

"Was that the quest of the raid?"

"yes"

"Why did you kidnap Serpens?"

"Because it was a way to get to Voldemort"

"How so?"

"Voldemort is his father"

Another outraged cry broke forth, "objection! The man is delusional! The boy's father is Tom Riddle!"

The judge banged his hammer hard on his table, "I said silence!"

"Dumbledore, was there any other victims in the raid?"

"Yes"

"Who was it?"

"Polaris Black"

"Who's that?"

"The eldest child of Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Black"

The judge banged his hammer again as the people began to murmur once more.

"What happened to Polaris?"

"Frank Longbottom killed her"

"Who else was on the raid?"

"Alice Longbottom, James Potter, Arthur Weasley"

* * *

"Drop your wands! Drop your wands!"

Five Aurors screamed as they broke down the house's door. The usually noisy house was unnaturally quiet as all seven kids were not present. The only two people in the house, the parents, dropped their wands, fear etched on the matriarch's face and passiveness on the patriarch's.

"Arthur Weasley, you are under arrest for being a part of an illegal raid, allowing a child to die, and kidnapping another. You have the right to remain silent"

* * *

"This is Healer Willis from St. Mungos. He'll conduct a few tests just to check your health. It's important to the investigation. Do you want me to stay here or wait outside?"

"Stay with me, please"

"Alright. I'll be right next to you"

Harry held onto Lucius' hand as Healer Willis aimed his wand at him, chanting a few spells. Finally, a self-writing quill wrote everything Harry was currently facing. After the quill finished writing, Healer Willis duplicated it, handing the duplicate to Lucius while sending the original off to the Ministry.

Lucius clenched his jaw as he read through the list.

 _Dehydration_

 _Three broken ribs that didn't heal properly_

 _Insomnia_

 _Anemia_

 _Malnourishment_

 _Other signs of physical abuse_

* * *

"Administer the Veritaserum. I will start with a few simple questions to make sure it's working. What is your name?"

"Arthur Weasley"

"In which year were you born?"

"1950"

"How many children do you have?"

"Seven"

"Good. It's working. Now, first question, were you present during the raid on Lestrange Manor dated June 17, 1981?"

"Yes"

"Were you aware that it was performed illegally?"

"Yes"

"What was your objective?"

"Guard James Potter as he secured the child"

"Did you know who the child was?"

"Yes"

"Why did you not report this to the Ministry?"

"They would have returned the boy to his family. I didn't want him to grow dark"

"Do you have proof that he would have grown to become a dark wizard?"

"No"

"How did you conclude that Serpens would have grown dark?"

"Everyone knows the Malfoys are dark"

"What was the roles of the others who went with you?"

"Frank Longbottom had to deal with the other child. Alice Longbottom had to guard Frank. James Potter had to secure the boy. Albus Dumbledore went after Bellatrix Black"

"Were you aware that Polaris was killed?"

"Yes"

"Why did you not report it?"

"It would have blown our cover"

"Why did you go after Bellatrix Black and her children?"

"They're You-know-who's family"

"Do you have proof?"

"No"

* * *

A red haired fourteen-year-old growled as he threw the newspaper he was reading in the fireplace. He turned to look at his other siblings. "Dad would never do such a thing," he growled.

"Ron, he was questioned under Veritaserum," his brother spoke as he turned to look at his twin.

"George is right, Ron. Dad answered all his answers under Veritaserum, in court," the twin spoke.

"Still," the fourth, a girl, spoke, "we can't just accept this"

* * *

"Administer the Veritaserum. I'll ask simple questions to make sure it's working. What's your full name?"

"Serpens Thomas Black"

"When were you born?"

"July 31st, 1980"

"It's working, let's continue. Did you know you were not Harry Potter before you contacted the Malfoys?"

"Yes"

"How did you know?"

"I did the test myself"

"Why?"

"I wanted to make sure my parents were James and Lily Potter," it was not technically a lie. Half-truths are your way out, that's what Uncle Lucius said.

"Did you know Albus Dumbledore was your magical guardian?"

"No"

"Did Albus Dumbledore ever visit you while you were staying with the muggle family?"

"No"

"It says here you were abused. Is that true?"

"Yes"

"What did the muggles do to you?"

"They locked me in a cupboard and made me sleep there. They locked me in there for days without food or water. They didn't allow me to eat with them. They gave me hard chores to do throughout the whole day and punished me if I didn't finish them all and make dinner by the end of the day. They made me clean their house spotless. They made me weed the garden. They beat me sometimes. Dudley beat me with his friends. They forced me to fail at school. They didn't allow me to have friends. They didn't give me proper clothing. They punished me for accidental magic. They punished me for Dudley's mistakes. They didn't tell me about magic."

"What was the muggle family's name?"

"Dursley"

* * *

Sirens blared as police cars came to a stop in front of a little house in Privet Drive, Little Whining, Surrey. Police Officers broke the door and forced their way inside the house. A horse faced woman screamed as a purple faced walrus stormed into the living room. Their son, a fat pig-like boy whose face was covered in chocolate looked up in annoyance from the television.

"Vernon Dursley, you are under arrest for abuse of a minor! You have the right to remain silent!" An Officer said as he handcuffed the walrus.

* * *

"Administer the Veritaserum. I'll start by asking a few simple questions. What is your name?"

"Molly Weasley"

"In what year were you born?"

"1950"

"It's working. Mrs. Weasley, were you aware of your husband's actions on the night of June 17, 1981?"

"No. He told me he had the night shift"

"Were you aware that Harry James Potter was actually Serpens Thomas Black?"

"No"

"Why did you care for Harry Potter?"

"Because he was a poor little dear who suffered more than he should. And he was friends with my son, Ron"

"Did you ever suspect that Serpens was not actually Harry?"

"No"

"Did you ever suspect your husband was up to illegal activity?"

"No"

* * *

"I believe we should hold another trial for Ms. Black, considering everything that has been brought to light. All of this was unknown when her trial was held. In fact, her trial was controlled by Dumbledore to a large degree"

"I agree, Lord Nott, these factors would have greatly changed the outcome of the first trial had they been present. I shall suggest this as this trial draws to a close"

* * *

"Administer the Veritaserum. I will ask simple questions now to make sure that it is working. What is your name?"

"Narcissa Malfoy"

"When were you born?"

"1955"

"How many children do you have?"

"One"

"Good. It's working. First question, Mrs. Malfoy, did you know your sister had children?"

"Yes"

"Do you know who the children's father is?"

"Yes"

"Who is he?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle"

"Who is Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

"He's a half-blood, much older than my sister, that's why we don't speak about him. My sister fell for a half-blood and had bastards with him instead of marrying Rodolphus Lestrange"

"Did you care for your nephew and niece?"

"I loved them with all my heart. They were like my own"

"Did you know what happened to them on June 17, 1981?"

"Yes"

"What happened to your sister's children?"

"Polaris was killed by Frank Longbottom. We didn't know what happened to Serpens until he found us again. He was kidnapped by James Potter. The third, Orion, is living in my care"

"Do you care about Serpens?"

"I love him just as I love my son"

* * *

A small boy shook with sobs in his room as he listened to his grandmother rage in the room next door. He couldn't believe his father would do such a thing. He couldn't believe his father had killed an innocent child. He couldn't believe his mother was in on it. He had spent his whole life feeling angry at Bellatrix Black for driving his parents insane with the Cruciatus. Now, he discovers his parents had killed her daughter.

* * *

"This draws the end of the trial regarding the kidnapping of Serpens Thomas Black. Lords, you have a few more minutes to determine whether you believe Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is guilty or not," the judge spoke solemnly in front of the lords of the Wizengamot. "Voting in regards to the charge of kidnapping. Lords, light your wands now"

With the exception of a few, all the wands were lit red at the tip. The judge nodded solemnly, "by clear majority, Dumbledore is considered guilty. Voting in regards to the charge of negligence…"

Again, almost all the wands were red tipped. "By clear majority, Dumbledore is considered guilty. Voting in regards to the charge of breaking and entering… "

This time, more wands were blue, but the majority was still obviously red. "By clear majority, Dumbledore is considered guilty. Voting in regards to the charge of ordering murder…"

Once more, nearly all the wands in the room were an angry red. "By clear majority, Dumbledore is considered guilty. This concludes the trial of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore, you have been found guilty in all charges filed against you. You shall serve forty years in Azkaban for breaking and entering, negligence, kidnapping, and ordering murder"

Next to Dumbledore stood Arthur Weasley, who had also been found guilty in regards to breaking and entering, kidnapping, and breaking the law, to which he was supposed to serve fifteen years in Azkaban.

Arthur turned to look at Dumbledore nervously. What will they do now? He had a family to get back to, to explain to. He couldn't just leave them. He stared at Dumbledore and the old man finally turned to him. The look in his eyes clearly told Arthur to just go along with the act, go down to the dungeons, Dumbledore had a plan, and he would find out what it was later.

As the convicts were taken away, the judge stood up and called for the attention of the lords,

"Lords, I would like to suggest reopening the case of Bellatrix Black, as this trial has brought forth information not available when Ms. Black was tried"

There was a great murmur as the lords decided what they wanted to do. After the noise settled down, the judge called for order and spoke, "Another vote should seal this, all those voting in favor of reopening Ms. Bellatrix Black's case…"

For the first time that day, just about all the wands in the room were held blue.

* * *

 **Quick question (s),**

 **1) How do you think the others will react to all that has happened?**

 **2) What do you think is Dumbledore's plan?**

 **3) What do you think Bellatrix will be like after she's released from Azkaban?**

 **4) What would you like to see happen?**

 **Reviews always welcome :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I've managed to write another chapter! Yay! Hope you, dear readers, enjoy it.**

 **.**

 **Also, I realized a bit too late that I made the result of the vote on Bellatrix's case negative so I fixed that.**

* * *

"What is your name?"

"Bellatrix Black"

"In what year were you born?"

"1951"

"The Veritaserum is working. Let's start. Ms. Black, what happened on June 17, 1981?"

"Albus Dumbledore attacked Lestrange Manor, where I was staying with my children. Rodolphus took me and apparated to Malfoy Manor before returning to Lestrange Manor with Lucius to rescue my babies. It was too late. Frank Longbottom had killed Polaris while Serpens was taken. We have no idea what happened to Serpens. I still don't know what happened to my baby boy. He could be alive or dead. He could be suffering at the hands of the Order or worse, and I'll never know"

"Ms. Black, who is your children's father?"

"Tom Riddle"

"Who is Tom Riddle?"

"A half-blood I fell in love with, but he just disappeared one night"

"Why were you at the Longbottoms house when you were captured?"

"Rodolphus went with Rabastan because he wanted revenge. I went to stop them"

"Did you torture the Longbottoms with the Cruciatus?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"They killed my baby girl"

* * *

"Voting in regards to the innocence of Ms. Bellatrix Black"

At first glance, all that could be seen was an accusing crimson, angry and unforgiving. At second glance, the other lords raised their wands, their tips a tranquil, merciful blue. At third glance, the result of the vote was decided.

* * *

"Bellatrix Black, you're free to go"

A thin, sickly looking woman was huddled in the corner of her cold, damp cell. She didn't seem to hear him and the Auror was about to repeat himself when a smooth voice came from behind him.

"Auror Dominic, I'll take it from here"

"Go ahead" An eyeroll later, the Auror left.

Lucius walked into the dirty cell and towards Bellatrix. He slowly leaned down so he was at eye level with her, "Bellatrix, it's me, Lucius. I'm here to get you out of here"

Bellatrix made no move to reply.

"Bellatrix, if you don't stand up by yourself, I'm going to have to carry you"

Again, the witch made no move to reply or show understanding. Lucius sighed. Who knew what this wretched place had done to a once lively witch?

He moved to pick her up, but the moment his hands touched her, she was screaming wildly and flailing her limbs haphazardly in an effort to protect herself. Lucius cursed and moved back quickly when her nails made contact with his face. He drew his wand and aimed it at the struggling witch. "Stupefy," he murmured softly. Immediately, Bellatrix fell limp and Lucius moved to her side, gently picking her up bridal style after murmuring a lightweight charm. He made quick work of shrinking and pocketing the witch's belongings from Auror Dominic, who was waiting for him at the apparition point, before he apparated into Malfoy Manor's entrance. "Narcissa! My Lord!"

In an instant, five more people were standing in the entrance of Malfoy Manor. Narcissa stared at her sister for a moment before snapping back to attention, "kids! Go to your rooms immediately! Serpens, stay with Orion!"

Orion was about to object when Tom turned to him with a sharp look, "don't. Listen to your aunt"

Orion nodded and grabbed his brother's arm, pulling Harry to his suite.

Once the kids were out of the way, the adults made their way towards a guest bedroom. Lucius laid Bellatrix on the bed gently before taking his spell off her. Narcissa, who had had Healers' training, wasted no time in chanting a number of charms over her sister. She waited for the results to be written before snatching the parchment.

 _Malnourishment_

 _Dehydration_

 _Anemia_

 _Early menopause_

 _Signs of mental abuse_

 _Acute insanity_

 _Insomnia_

 _PTSD_

Narcissa cursed silently as she handed the parchment to Tom and moved to bring all the potions her sister would need. Tom's eyebrows furrowed as he read everything on the list. Bellatrix and Serpens had almost the same problems. He knew the PTSD and insanity would be much harder to deal with though.

Taking a seat next to her, he stared down at her sadly and brushed her hair away from her face. She looked so different from the last time he saw her. His beautiful, lean, rosy witch was replaced with a hollow-cheeked gray-skinned woman covered in dirt, blood, and Merlin knows what. Her previously thick, uncontrollable hair stuck to her face, greasy and unhealthy, not an ounce of its past glory in it.

"Prepare everything she would need. I'm taking her home," Tom spoke softly.

Narcissa was about to object when Tom silenced her, "she deserves to heal in her own room, in her own home. Staying here would overwhelm her, for many reasons. You know I'll take good care of her"

Narcissa nodded, knowing how much better it would be for Bellatrix to be in a place she considers home, "I'll prepare everything she would need for her physical recuperation. Her mental healing is a separate process though. Her insanity and PTSD could be dealt with using Occlumency, but she will have to re-learn to organize her mind. As for getting her back to normal, I believe behavioral therapy should do the trick"

"No," Tom said softly.

"I beg your pardon?" confusion laced Narcissa's voice.

"There will be no 'getting her back to normal', Bellatrix has gone through a traumatic life. She's bound to have changed. She can't get back to, or be forced to go back to, the way she used to be. I'll deal with her mental issues my way. As for her physical health, send all the potions she will need to Slytherin Manor"

"As you wish, My Lord," with that, Narcissa made her way to their Potions store.

"Lucius," Tom called quietly.

"Yes?"

"I'll be busy taking care of Bellatrix for the upcoming future. Can Serpens and Orion stay with you meanwhile?"

"Of course. They're welcome here all the time. They're family, after all"

"Good"

With that, Tom took the unconscious Bellatrix into his arms, holding her close to his chest as he apparated away. Lucius sighed as he left the room, searching for his wife.

* * *

Tom laid Bellatrix on the bed gently. He simultaneously vanished her filthy Azkaban uniform and summoned a cloth and water. He grit his teeth at the sight of her body, so thin he could count her ribs. Cursing every Ministry worker and every Auror who had a hand in Bellatrix's imprisonment, Tom took care to avoid accidentally hurting her while cleaning her as thoroughly as possible.

After he was done cleaning her body, Tom scoured Bellatrix's hair. It left her mane free of grime but still greasy and unhealthy. The frustrated wizard sighed, he couldn't do better than that at the moment. Summoning a comfortable pair of pajamas from the closet, he dressed her in them and assessed his handiwork. Sighing again, he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her head, "you'll be alright, I promise"

He then left for the kitchen, where his owl, Ares, was waiting with a basket sent by Narcissa. He opened the basket and pulled out everything in it, finding multiple potions and a container of soup and bread. There was a note from Narcissa,

 _Don't let her eat too much at a time, her body can't handle it. There's a schedule of the times she should drink her potions. I'm taking care of Serpens' problems. I'll leave the ribs for later since they would have to be regrown and he wants you with him._

Tom made a mental note to thank Narcissa later as he made himself a light sandwich. He felt sick to his stomach and didn't want to eat but knew he had to take care of himself if he was planning on taking care of Bellatrix. He couldn't do that if was collapsing from hunger. Forcing himself to eat the sandwich, he heated some of the soup for Bella and made his way back to their bedroom, only to find Bellatrix not where he left her.

Tom cursed silently, placing the tray of food on the bedside table as he started to search for his lover. He found her in a corner, hugging her knees to her chest while muttering and sobbing. Tom gulped back his own emotions and moved to kneel in front of her.

"Bella, darling, you're safe. You're safe now. You're out of Azkaban. You're never going to that wretched place again. Come on, darling," he reached out towards her, only to have her start thrashing wildly and crying out, "that's what you always say! I'm not getting out of here! You're just playing with my mind again!" Tom was taken aback. So that's how the Dementors played with her head...

Someone was going to pay for this, someone was going to pay dearly...

Tom shook his head. This was not the time to think about revenge. He had to prove to Bella that this was real. An idea suddenly struck him, but he knew he would be risking a lot by trying it. He looked at the struggling witch in front of him and knew he had to at least try. He moved to hold her, pulling her thrashing form to his chest. He held her tightly as she fought to get out of his hold. "This is real," he said before leaning down, kissing her as gently as he could, entering her mind at the same time, letting his consciousness brush against hers. Bellatrix slowly stopped fighting then. Tom pulled back slowly to study her reaction. There was a reason love was considered a powerful tool in the Wizarding World.

Bellatrix reached out reluctantly, placing the palm of her hand against Tom's cheek, "Tom, is it really you?" She asked as tears slowly rolled down her face.

"Yes, love, it is me. And I'm not going anywhere. Not this time"

Bellatrix broke down sobbing then. Tom kept quiet, holding her close to his chest and letting her release it all. Once she was calm enough, he carried her and headed towards the bathroom, where he drew a warm bath. He undressed her slowly before carrying her again and placing her in the tub. He slowly took care of her, draining the tub when the water got too sullied and filling it again. Bellatrix cried softly as Tom soaked her up in his love. It had been too long, too long since she last felt his care or love, too long without him, too long without… without her babies… her babies… Orion… WHAT HAPPENED TO HER SON?!

"Tom," urgency and anxiety deeply laced her voice.

Tom looked up at her, his eyes holding a look of alarm, "what is it, love?"

"Orion. What happened to Orion?"

"Oh," Tom relaxed again, "he's with your sister, in Malfoy Manor. She raised him after I disappeared and you..." he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Went to Azkaban"

"Yes." At that point, Bella was completely clean, so Tom drained the tub and carried her away, wrapping her in a towel. He summoned another pair of her pajamas and helped her dress herself. He then carried her back to the bed, laying her gently and getting her the tray of food. He was suddenly thankful that he had placed heat preservation charms on them. "Narcissa sent it. I didn't make it, I promise," he said as he gave her the bowel of hot soup. Bellatrix laughed to the best of her ability, "we all know how bad of a cook you are"

Tom smiled and sat beside Bellatrix on the bed. He rubbed her knee comfortingly and spoke, "you'll be alright, I promise. We won't let this stop us. You'll need time to heal, but you'll be alright, because you're the toughest witch I ever met and you won't let Azkaban get in your way"

* * *

 **Alright, that's it for now. Reviews welcome as always. In fact, I'd like to ask a couple quick questions before ending this...**

 **1) Would you like to see Polaris' case reopened?**

 **2) What would you like to see happen?**

 **I would just like to deeply thank those who reviewed and answered my questions before. You guys rock!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Long wait, I know, I'm sorry. Anyways, without further ado, the new chapter**

* * *

"Serpens! Orion! Your father is here!"

Orion looked up with a grin from the chess game he was playing with Serpens. "Father is here! Let's go!" He got up quickly and pulled his brother towards the door of his room, only remembering to ask where his father was when he was standing outside his room.

"Misty!" Orion called loudly.

A small house elf immediately appeared next to the two boys. "Young Master call Misty. What can Misty do for Young Master?"

"Where's my father, Misty?"

"Guest is Young Master's father?"

"Yes"

"Young Master's father is in the potions room"

Orion nodded before starting to walk again, pulling Serpens with him. Two weeks had passed since the last time they saw their father and he was too excited, which meant the boys reached the Potions Lab in less than five minutes. They stopped right in front of the door, Orion taking a deep breath to calm himself, then pushed it open, finding their father sitting on a chair as their Aunt Narcissa was looking through the shelves of potions.

One look at Tom had Orion feelings immediately shift from excitement to concern. Tom looked downright terrible what with the bags under his eyes, even paler skin, and his disheveled hair. Shoulders sagging, he rubbed his face tiredly and let out a quiet sigh.

"Tom?" Serpens called unsurely as he entered the room. At the call of his name, Tom turned to look at his sons, forcing a tight-lipped smile to his face. The two boys glanced at each other before walking towards their father, equal looks of concern on their faces. Tom waited until they were standing right in front of him then pulled them into a tight embrace. It took only a second for the boys to register what happened and hug back.

"Your mother is doing much better, but she still has a long road ahead of her," deciding that they were old enough to know the truth, Tom pushed the boys back and answered their unspoken question. "I'm taking you home… today," Tom told them, his tone not allowing for any argument. Orion turned to look at his aunt, knowing she was probably against this. He turned his attention back to his father when he heard him speak, quickly realizing the question wasn't aimed for him.

"Narcissa told me she was taking care of your health issues. How's it going?"

"I'm alright," Serpens smiled.

From the back of the room, Narcissa rolled her eyes and interjected, "he stopped taking potions two days ago. He's no longer anemic, dehydrated, or malnourished. His insomnia is still a bit of a problem. We've been dealing with it by placing calming spells on him at night. Once he masters Occlumency, he'll be able to deal with it by himself. We've also dealt with all the remainders of the abuse left on his body. All that's left are the deep scars. Those, I can't do anything for."

Turning his gaze back to his son, Tom realized that Serpens had gained a significant amount of weight, looking much healthier than he ever had before. The boy's usually pale skin now held a soft healthy tinge of pink, and the ghosts of under eye bags was completely gone.

"That just leaves his ribs issues, correct?" Tom asked.

"Yes. He refused starting on healing them until you were able to take care of him. He said he wanted you close when he did it"

"Alright," Tom spoke, "will you bring Serpens' Skelegrow potions with Bellatrix's other potions?" Although it was phrased as a question, it was obvious this was an order.

"Wait," Orion spoke before Tom could, "what do you mean 'bring'?"

"Your aunt is coming with us to Slytherin Manor. Your mother is due for a check-up"

"Oh"

"Yes. Now go pack your belongings, only the things you absolutely can't part with. We'll have the rest owled later on"

The boys nodded, quickly leaving the lab and setting to their task. Once the boys were out of the room, Tom turned back to Narcissa, "why has Serpens really refused treating his ribs?"

"Well, it's a number of reasons. He still doesn't trust us that much, and while he doesn't completely trust you either, he feels safer with you," Narcissa paused for a moment, sighing, "he refuses to admit it, but he's also afraid of the process. The procedure would pretty much be the same as his experience in his second year due to Lockhart, and that memory is keeping him apprehensive of going through with this"

Tom furrowed his eyebrows, not liking what he heard but knowing it was the complete truth. "How long would the procedure take?"

"It's not an exact science. It depends on how his body handles it. Based on his current health and his previous response to medicines, I believe it will take approximately three nights"

* * *

"Hey, Orion?"

"Yes?"

"How are you so calm about all the changes in our lives? I mean, you've lived like a Malfoy your whole life, and suddenly Tom is here and Bellatrix is out of Azkaban and they're taking you back..."

Orion looked up from the things he was stuffing in his bag, studying his brother for a few moments before speaking, "Harry, listen, it's fine to struggle with all these changes. Your whole life has been turned upside down. You're doing great moving on and dealing with all of this, so don't compare yourself to me, because it's not the same, Harry. That's not to say that I'm not having trouble accepting all of this, but it's completely different. Our situations are completely different, Harry." Pausing to study his brother, Orion sighed. It was obvious Serpens didn't really like what he was hearing.

"Harry, listen, my whole life, I've known that Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa are not my parents. I've known that my parents are Bellatrix Black and Tom Riddle since I was four. I've known that my mother is in Azkaban since I was seven. I've known that my father is the Dark Lord since I was nine, after I perfected my Occlumency. I grew up being trained to one day join my father's side as a prince. I've grown up despising Dumbledore and the Order for what they did to my family. I've grown up believing in the Dark, in the Death Eaters. I've grown up as a prince. This is the difference between you and I. You grew up having no idea that magic exists, abused when you showed signs of power that wizarding parents would have been extremely proud of. You were treated as a house elf and when you found out about Wizardkind, you were pushed into being the Light's hero. You received no training whatsoever for it, just to hone your "Gryffindor Courage". You were manipulated by the old coot. Your whole life, you were told that your parents are James and Lily Potter. You were told that they were two of the Light's greatest heroes. You were told that you are "just like Potter" all the time. You were told that the Light is the only right choice. Merlin, you weren't even allowed to join your rightful house at Hogwarts because it was "dark"! You were basically made to hero worship Dumbledore and his band of imbeciles. That's why this is hard for you. This is why you're having trouble accommodating. It's understandable. Father doesn't expect you to just start acting like me. That's why he doesn't say anything when you call him by his name. He's giving you the time you need. And you shouldn't feel bad about needing it, because anyone in your place would react the same way. It's natural. Your whole life, everything you ever believed in, was turned upside down. You just need to let yourself heal and accept these changes"

Serpens stared at his brother, who had returned to packing. He didn't know how to react or what to say. He hadn't taken these factors into consideration when he thought about everything, only focusing on the pain he was feeling and how Orion seemed to not be affected. He was happy for his brother, didn't want him to go through the same pain, but also a little envious that he was dealing with everything so well.

Orion finished packing then, closing his bag and placing it over his shoulder. He moved next to his brother, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly, "you'll be alright."

With that, Orion walked out of the room, heading towards Draco's quarters and leaving Serpens to think about he had said.

* * *

"I'm going home"

Draco looked up from his homework, a sad look crossing his features for a brief moment before he replaced it with a fake confused look. "I thought this was your home," he joked, a hint of the sadness escaping into his voice.

"You know what I mean. Malfoy Manor might be my childhood home, but my real home is Slytherin Manor, with my parents," Orion replied, knowing how his cousin actually felt.

"I know. It's just a bit sad to see you go. We grew up here, together, as brothers"

"And we'll always be like brothers. Just because I'm going to live in another manor doesn't mean we'll lose that bond. Salazar knows you won't let me"

"Yeah, but I guess you also have Serpens now"

"Merlin's wrinkly arse, Draco! Don't tell me you're jealous of Serpens!"

"I'm not! I'm just..." Draco murmured the rest under his breath.

"What was that? Speak up, Draco. You're a Malfoy for Merlin's sake. Act like one!"

Draco glared at Orion, "I said, I'm just worried that you won't need me since you have your real older brother now"

Orion rolled his eyes, "Serpens won't replace you. He's my older brother, we're bound to have a strong bond, but just because I'll be close to him doesn't mean I won't be close to you anymore"

Draco nodded, silently getting up from his seat and approaching Orion. He pulled the younger boy into a hug, "we'll finally have some peace and quiet in this house"

"Hey!" Orion pulled out of the hug, "I'll have you know that I'm not that noisy!"

Draco raised a knowing eyebrow, "Orion **Black**? Not noisy? In which universe is this? Because it surely isn't in ours"

Orion rolled his eyes, punching Draco's arm playfully.

"Ow! What did you do that for?!" Draco whined.

"You deserved it"

"No, I didn't! You're just being abusive!"

"Yes, you did. Anyways, I'm the son of the Dark Lord, I'm violent, not abusive"

"To-may-to to-mah-to"

"And this is how I know our conversation is over and I win, as always"

The two teenagers stared at each other then, before breaking into equal grins.

"I'm going to miss you"

"I'm going to miss you too, Draco"

* * *

"Draco?"

"I didn't think you'd seek me out, considering you completely ignored me for the past two weeks," Draco said, not looking up from his work.

"Listen, I'm sorry. It's just… I know we used to hate each other..."

"I didn't hate you," Draco interrupted.

"What?"

"I didn't hate you, Harry. You hurt my ego. I was bitter and angry, but I didn't hate you"

"Oh," Speechless, Serpens was entirely speechless just then and didn't quite know what quite what to do.

"I don't think you came here to say goodbye. If you're searching for Orion, he's already gone to Uncle Tom"

"I... didn't come for that, actually"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I... I actually came here to say I'm sorry. I know I was a bit mean to you. Can we just... start over?"

Draco smiled slightly, "I believe I was mean as well. Yeah. I guess we can start over. We're cousins now, after all"

Draco held out his hand, and this time, Serpens shook it.

* * *

 **Alright, just one question this time,**

 **What would you like to see happen?**

 **That's it, reviews always welcome**


	7. Chapter 7

**It's been so long, I know, that's why I'm posting two chapters today, as a little apology. Anyways, enjoy...**

* * *

It was a beautiful night. The stars were shining brightly. The moon was glowing softly. There was a light breeze in the air... It was a beautiful night indeed. Not a soul could be disturbed...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH"

Well, not a soul but one...

Orion jumped awake, startled by the loud scream coming from next to him. He turned on the bed, studying his brother. Serpens was thrashing wildly in his sleep, screaming and groaning in pain. His hands were flailing around, mostly trying to aim for his chest area. Orion cursed silently as he started to frantically search for the pain relieving potion. He cursed when he didn't find it. Turning to look at his struggling brother, he made a split second decision and reached for his wand. He aimed a calming spell at his brother, releasing a nervous breath when Serpens finally started to calm down. He moved to sit next to Serpens, brushing the older boy's hair gently as he murmured comforting nonsense, "it's alright. You only have a day of this left. It's alright. The pain will stop soon. I'm here." As he took care of his brother, Orion found himself lost in a memory.

 **Flashback**

"I'll be placing silencing wards over Serpens' rooms temporarily. I don't want to risk your mother hearing him cry out in pain. This won't be easy on him," Tom informed him.

"You'll place wards that will let you know if he's in pain as well, right?" Orion asked.

"Of course"

Silence fell over them for a few moments before Orion broke it, "Father?"

"Yes?"

"How about I stay with Serpens until he heals. I mean, I could sleep next to him, just to make sure that he's alright and that nothing happens during the night"

"That won't be necessary. I'm able to take care of your brother just fine"

"Forgive me, Father, I didn't mean to insinuate that you couldn't take care of Serpens. I'm just saying that should Mother have a rough night, you might feel better knowing that Serpens is not alone," Orion stated. Tom mulled over it for a moment before nodding his agreement.

 **End flashback**

Orion was pulled out of his thoughts when the door to Serpens' bedroom was slammed open and a disheveled Tom entered, looking exhausted and worried, with a potion bottle in his hand. He took one look at his sons and sighed, rubbing his face tiredly.

"I put a calming spell on him... Mother is having a bad night again, isn't she?" Orion asked.

Tom nodded as he moved towards the bed, plopping down inelegantly.

"Just put the potion on the bedside table. I've got this under control. You need to sleep," Orion told his father.

Tom put the potion on the bedside table as he was told, nodding a bit. He glanced at Orion from the corner of his eyes and squeezed his knee comfortingly, "you took good care of the situation and acted like an adult. I'm proud of you"

Orion felt shock for a moment as he registered what his father had said. His shock quickly turned into pride. This was the first time he had heard one of his parents tell him they were proud of him and he couldn't help how happy it made him. Looking up at Tom, who was moving to stand next to Serpens, Orion quickly schooled his features, knowing that a true heir such as him should never show his emotions.

Unaware of Orion's inner giddiness, Tom stroked Serpens' hair lightly, smiling sadly as he did so, and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. He then made his way back to his room, where a peacefully sleeping Bella was. He had had to use a calming spell himself to get her to relax.

He collapsed on the bed gracelessly, turning to look at Bellatrix. He brushed her hair back softly and placed a kiss on her head. "I'm not giving up on you," he told her sleeping form, determination laced with every word. It didn't take much for sleep to take him under after that.

* * *

Two mornings after the night with the screaming incident, Serpens woke up feeling better than he had for days. He pat his chest, happiness engulfing him when he realized he felt no pain whatsoever. He looked to his left, a smile on his face, and found his brother snoring lightly. Serpens' scowled slightly, knowing how tired his brother probably was after the ordeal of the past three nights. He decided not to disturb the younger boy and got up, shucking his clothes off as he moved towards the bathroom. He drew a hot bath, sighing with content as he let the steaming water absorb all the remaining aches regrowing his ribs had left.

Serpens didn't know how long passed before he got out of the water. He laughed lightheartedly at his prune-like hands as he put on his robe. He left the bathroom as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb his sleeping brother.

"Why are you out of bed?" A voice demanded and Serpens almost jumped out of his skin. He turned quickly to look at the source of the voice, finding Tom occupying the spot he had spent the past 3 days and nights sleeping on.

"Well?"

Serpens grinned sheepishly, "I feel much better"

Tom narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "get dressed. I'm taking you to Narcissa to make sure you're alright"

Serpens scowled childishly and did as he was told. He dressed quickly in a dark grey shirt and grey slacks. He tried to style his wild hair but failed miserably as always. Staring at himself in the mirror, Serpens wondered if his facial features would ever change to look more like his biological family and less like that of James Potter. He wondered if it was even possible to change it back. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, moving to put on a pair of black Dragon hide boots. He left the closet after he was done, finding Tom standing in the center of his room, ready to go with his traveling cloak in his arms.

Tom cocked a criticizing eyebrow, "where's your cloak?"

"I don't need it"

Tom closed his eyes, reminding himself that Serpens did not have any education whatsoever on proper etiquette, "Serpens, gentlemen wear a traveling cloak when leaving their houses. Go back to your closet and bring one of your cloaks"

Serpens nodded and did what he was told. He just got better and he wasn't in the mood to argue with his father over the necessity of a traveling cloak of all things. Tom studied his appearance once he exited the closet again, nodding with approval. He moved towards the door, motioning for Serpens to follow him. A few moments later, father and son were walking up to Malfoy Manor, Draco greeting them at the entrance hall.

"Hello Uncle Tom, Serpens," he nodded politely, "please, take off your cloaks. Misty! Take their cloaks! Anyways, I assume you're here for a check up on Serpens' health. I'm afraid Mother and Father are quite **busy** this afternoon. They've decided that they needed some private **bonding** time. If you're in a rush though, Uncle Sev is here. I can call him"

Serpens snorted as Draco shuddered. Tom rolled his eyes, he didn't remember going through a dirty-mindedness phase, but then again, he was a really peculiar child who grew up in an orphanage. He tuned out the rest of the boys' conversation until they reached the living room.

"Draco," Tom called, continuing when he had the teenager's attention, "do call Severus. I'd like to have a few words with him"

"Of course," Draco nodded, leaving quickly. He returned a few moments later with Severus at his heel.

"My Lord," Severus bowed politely, not rising until he had the Dark Lord's permission.

"Rise, Severus," Tom spoke.

Severus nodded and rose, he remained standing in front of the other man, unsure of whether he was supposed to take a seat or not. Tom sighed, "take a seat, Severus"

Severus took the seat facing Tom, knowing that it would make having a conversation easier.

"Serpens! Pay attention, this conversation will be important for you," Tom ordered sharply. Serpens gulped and nodded, Tom would accept it for now. He turned back to Severus.

"You've received my message. I want answers," Tom demanded.

"I've asked all the other professors. Pot- the Dark Prince has been barely acquiring Acceptables in most of his subjects, he's even gotten a number of Trolls. The way he's going currently, he has no hope of getting Exceeds Expectations on his O.W.L.s, let alone Outstandings. From my assessment of his brother's capabilities along with his own, I can tell you, from a Professor's point of view, that he will need at least six months of hard work and intensive courses if he wants Es in his O.W.L.s, another six of he wants Os"

Serpens flinched. He'd known he wasn't doing well in school, but he never thought it was that bad...

Tom sighed, "I figured out as much. That's why I've decided to pull Serpens out of Hogwarts for a year"

"What?! You can't do that!" Serpens exclaimed angrily, he winced and shrank back when Tom sent him a sharp look.

"Yes, I can actually. I'm having Lucius pull some strings to let you have a year off Hogwarts, under the guise of 'healing and adapting to all the new changes'. Come September, Orion and Draco will go back to Hogwarts while you stay here. Severus, I want you to plan a schedule for Serpens, one that would ensure he gets enough lessons and training before his O.W.L.s and accommodates to your other responsibilities. Draw up two different schedules for the summer and the school year if you have to. Also take into consideration that there will be some lessons devoted to teaching him proper manners and etiquette. I will not have a bohemian for a son. Furthermore, I want him to at least start practicing Occlumency. He can't be completely vulnerable to mind attacks"

"Of course, My Lord, I'll start working on it immediately"

"Good. Now, I want to know how Orion's education has come along"

"Orion is quite the prodigy. He has already surpassed N.E.W.T. level material in all Hogwarts subjects, including electives. He mastered Occlumensy at the age of nine, and is currently working on healing. Narcissa says that he's surpassed basic healing and has moved on to more complex healing procedures and wounds. He's refused to be taught the Dark Arts by us, though. His reasoning was that we have not mastered it as you have and that he'd rather be taught by you. I do believe he's started on his own, though"

Tom smiled, pride gleaming in his eyes. He sat silently for a moment, taking into consideration everything he was told. Serpens, meanwhile, had his head hung down dejectedly. Draco, who had been extremely silent, looked up anxiously when he heard the next question. "I assume Draco is on the same level of achievement as Orion?" Tom asked, and Draco could see the gears turning in his head.

"Not quite," Severus started, "Draco has achieved N.E.W.T. level mastery in all Hogwarts subjects, although it took him more time. He's still not on the same level as Orion. Draco has also not been successful with healing, and Orion remains ahead when it comes ti control and dueling"

Draco held his breath and turned back to Tom. At that moment, Lucius and Narcissa finally made an appearance, both sporting goofy smiles. They stopped dead on their tracks when they saw everyone. Tom looked like he was deeply considering something; Severus looked a cross between tired and proud; Draco looked relieved to see them there but also worried; and Serpens looked like a kicked puppy. Tom turned to look at the Malfoy parents, cocking an unimpressed eyebrow. He motioned for them to take a seat.

"Narcissa, how long will it take to check up on Serpens?"

"Only a few moments"

"Good. You'll do that as I brief Lucius on his new assignment"

"What shall I do, My Lord?" Lucius inquired.

"Patience, Lucius, I'll inform you in a few moments," Tom wondered how the mood shifted from friendly to formal, but then again, when he was involved, that tended to happen a lot.

"I've decided to start teaching Draco and Orion the Dark Arts," Tom told them. He watched as Lucius and Narcissa looked to each other, seemingly having a silent conversation before breaking into equal grins. "There is no greater honor, My Lord," Lucius spoke.

Tom nodded then turned to Narcissa, "you can start your check up now. Lucius will inform you of the other things you need to do"

Narcissa nodded elegantly before starting to fret over her nephew. Meanwhile, Tom briefed Lucius on everything he had discussed with Severus. A while later, Tom and Serpens left Malfoy Manor, Serpens with a clean bill of health and a new goal.

* * *

 **Welp, the next chapter will be posted in a few...**

 **Reviews welcome as always...**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, here's the next chapter... I don't know, enjoy it, I guess...**

* * *

"Tom?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Tom said, looking up from the parchments he was studying. He raised a questioning eyebrow at his son, silently encouraging him to speak.

"Will I ever look like you and Orion?"

Tom softened a bit, "do you want to look like us?"

Serpens rubbed the back of his neck nervously, unsure of how to phrase his statement, "I don't want to look like James Potter anymore. He's not my real family. I want to look like you guys. I want to know how I really look like"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Go call your brother then, and we'll take care of your appearance," Tom ordered. Serpens grinned and ran out of the study, searching for Orion.

Tom stood, moving to stand in front of his desk. An idea struck him then as he waited for the boys to come. By the time they barged into his office, he had come to a decision.

"Is it true, Father? Is Serpens going to stop looking like Potter?" Orion asked, excitement emanating from him in waves.

"Yes, but first, I'll explain how the Order made him look like the Potters," Tom answered. The boys nodded and Tom pulled out his wand, twirling it in his hand as he spoke. "I've done some studying, and I've come to the conclusion that Dumbledore has placed some extremely strong glamours on Serpens. It couldn't have been anyone else because these glamours are some of the most difficult in the world. They're called Carthalo's Glamours, in the namesake of Carthalo Cicero, the wizard who invented them. The special thing about Carthalo's Glamours is that they age with the person, just like Serpens' glamours did. This is what makes them as difficult as they are. Furthermore, they become stronger the longer they last. Only a very powerful wizard or witch can place or remove them. Fortunately for you, I'm one of the most powerful wizards in the world. This shan't be all that difficult to remove"

With that, Tom started circling Serpens, wand aimed at him, as he chanted the reversal spells. It took several minutes of Tom repeating the process before a bright light engulfed Serpens and he started changing. The light was so intense Orion and Tom had to shield their eyes. Once the light disappeared, Tom and Orion looked at Serpens, Tom summoning a full length mirror for him.

"Woah," Orion breathed, "that's wicked!"

In front of the mirror, Serpens was studying his new features. His hair had finally calmed down and wasn't messy; it was still black, but wavy and tamer. His bright green eyes had turned a crystal grey color, almost like the Malfoys'. His skin had become paler, making him look even more like a doll. As he stared at his face, Serpens saw a much more aristocratic looking boy. His cheekbones were higher and his nose was smoother, his face complemented by his newly defined jawbone and prominent Adam's apple. Serpens gulped and raised a hand to his face, touching it to make sure this was real. As he caressed his face, another change caught his eyes. His fingers, he realized, were longer. Looking down, he also noticed that the ground was further than he remembered it; he'd gained at least a full foot, he supposed.

Serpens looked back in the mirror, "I look just like the Tom Riddle I had to face in my second year. Well, except for the eyes"

Tom chuckled, "yeah, I apologize about that incident. I didn't really want my first interaction with you to go quite like that, but my younger self still didn't go through the experiences that I did. It doesn't matter now, anyways"

Serpens turned to stare at his father, "how did you do that anyways?"

"I'll tell you when the time is right. As for right now, I suggest you go wash up and wear something nice, you'll be meeting your mother today"

The two teenagers looked at their father, equal looks of anticipation and surprise on their faces.

"Is Mother doing better?" Orion asked.

"A little. I have a theory though. I believe seeing you two will help her," Tom answered. The boys nodded before leaving their father's study, wanting to get ready to meet their mother.

* * *

"Bella?" Tom called, entering his bedroom.

"Tom?" Bella asked, looking up from the book on her lap.

Tom smiled, "yes, it's me, Bella. Darling, will you come with me for a moment?"

"Why?"

"I have something for you. Please, just come with me to our living room"

Bella looked up at him, not really wanting to go, but seeing his pleading eyes, she couldn't help but accept his proffered hand. Tom grinned triumphantly and helped her stand.

Over the past weeks, her physical symptoms had all been treated, making her look more like the beautiful young witch she used to be. Her curly hair was looking healthy again. Her skin was no longer a sickly color. Her body filled out and she gained all the weight she needed. Her nails had also grown and were stronger.

Tom was immensely relieved when she had gone back to her full strength, yet the real problem resided in her mental health. The Bellatrix standing in his arms now was in no way the same Bellatrix who once thought life was a dark adventure.

Tom shook his head as they exited the bedroom. Now was not the time to brood. He saw Orion stand up immediately when they went through the door. Serpens was nowhere to be seen however. Tom frowned and reached out with his mind, searching for his eldest son. He brushed against Serpens' mind, realizing that the boy was hiding behind the couch. Frowning, Tom pushed a bit more into his son's head, finding a mix of anxiousness and fear of rejection. Before Tom could delve more into what Serpens was feeling, he was brought back to reality by Bellatrix's loud gasp.

"Orion?" Bellatrix asked, tears filling her eyes.

"Yes, Mother, it's me," Orion smiled, coming closer.

Bellatrix left Tom's side, approaching Orion and pulling him into her arms, "my baby, you grew up so much"

"I guess so," Orion mumbled into her neck.

Mother and son remained in their embrace for a few minutes, neither wanting to be the first to pull away. Eventually, it was Orion who pulled out of his mother's arms. He cleared his throat and stood to his full height, smiling brightly at his parents. Just then, Bellatrix noticed another person stand up. She turned to see who it was, only to stare disbelievingly with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Tom, is it real? Is this real, Tom?!" Bella asked, voice choked up with emotion.

Tom smiled and moved to stand next to her, "yes, love, it's real. He's real. I've found him"

Serpens stood awkwardly, staring at his parents and not knowing what to do. He walked around the couch and towards his parents, stopping a few feet away.

"When? When did you find him, Tom?" Bella asked, still in too much shock to move.

"Uh, remember that Halloween night I disappeared? I'd actually gone to retrieve him but it went awry," Tom answered sheepishly. Bella turned to look at him, anger and pain written all over her face.

"You've know that long?! And you didn't think to tell me?!"

She hit him on the chest, angry and hurt that he'd excluded her from his findings. Tom held her down gently, "you weren't strong enough to meet them up until now and I knew you'd have wanted to. I didn't want to risk hindering your recovery"

"What about before that, Tom?!"

"You'd just given birth to Orion"

"That's not an excuse!" Bella screeched angrily.

"He's here now, Bella. That's all that matters"

Bella stared at Tom for a moment, dumbfounded, before starting to hit him again, more violently.

"Never. Do. That. To. Me. Again!" She punctuated every word with a slam to his chest before she suddenly broke down and started crying. She held his shirt tightly, sobbing with so much grief that it physically pained Tom.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he told her gently, holding her close and rubbing her back comfortingly. He turned them around so the boys wouldn't see their mother shaking with greif.

Bella only sobbed more brokenly, "I lost my daughter. I lost my baby boy. And then I lost you! And I never knew what happened!"

Tom shushed her softly, trying to quell her crying, "I know. I know"

"No! You don't! You don't know, Tom! I spent thirteen years in Azkaban! Hoping! Hoping that my baby was not being hurt! Hoping that you weren't dead! Hoping that Orion would know at least one parent! Never knowing what happened to my sons! Never knowing what happened to you! Never knowing if you died or just decided to leave us! Never knowing if I would ever see my boys again or not! The only thing I had in there other than hope was the Dementors' games. And they always gave you more hope only to crush it away! They always had you dead. Always had my boys dead. Always gave me visions of what could have been only to rip them away, leaving me more broken every time! You have no idea what that's like! You have no idea what it's like to go through that, Tom!"

Tom swallowed a breath as he tried to get his bearings back in order. Hearing what she went through was like a slap to the face. "You're right. You're absolutely right," he held her close to him, repeating into her hair the same thing, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry"

Suddenly, Bellatrix heard soft crying, accompanied by a "Mummy. I'm sorry, Mummy"

She pushed out of Tom's arms, brushing the tears from her face quickly and moving towards Serpens, who she realized was the one crying. She pulled him into her chest awkwardly, since he was taller than her, but it didn't matter to them. "Shh. It wasn't your fault, baby," Bella spoke gently as she brushed his hair comfortingly.

Serpens held onto her waist as tightly as he could, shoulders racking as he sobbed more violently, "I-I a-always wished s-s-someone o-out there would l-l-love m-me. A-all along, y-you d-did"

Bella choked on a sob as she tried to contain it, "of course, baby. I'll always love you"

Her words only made Serpens cry more, though. Off to the side, Tom crumbled down to the ground, grief consuming him for all the things that happened to his family. He knew he would be going through his own emotional breakdown later, but currently, he was too consumed with his family's pain to be able to focus on his. He spotted Orion moving towards him, a concerned look on his face. Tom waved him off. Meanwhile, Bella had pulled away from Serpens just enough to pull him towards Tom and Orion. She pulled him down so that he was sitting between her and Tom and they both engulfed him in their embrace, Bella crying softly and Tom rubbing her back. Orion, meanwhile, squeezed his father's knee, trying to bring him at least a semblance of comfort.

Serpens sobbed more as realization dawned on him. He could see it now. He could see how the Light Side never cared about him. He could see how they never loved him. He could see now how even the Weasleys, who he had thought were the most loving family anyone could wish for, were nothing compared to his own. He could see now all the love he had been denied when he had been on Dumbledore's side. And at that moment, he decided he didn't want a family like the Weasleys. His family was perfect, because, even though they were broken, their love for each other was as real as it gets and their bond could never be replaced.

* * *

 **Welp, that's it for now. I'm just gonna ask quickly,**

 **What would you like to see happen in the future?**

 **As always, reviews are highly welcome and appreciated.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Aaaaaaanndd... here's another chapter... I hope you enjoy it and all that...**

* * *

"Open," a scowling boy hissed at a silver snake head on the door to his parents' bedroom. When the door unlocked, he pushed it and ran quickly towards the bed, jumping on it with the grace of a hippopotamus.

"Hey, Mum," he smiled cheekily at the woman laying on the bed. She put down the book she was reading and turned to look at him, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you be with Lucius for your Astronomy class?" Bella asked.

"Yes," Serpens answered sheepishly, shifting his position so he was sitting in front of her with his legs outstretched. He played with his feet as he spoke, "Uncle Lucius is a great teacher. He makes all the boring subjects sound exciting. Ancient Runes and Arithmancy actually make sense when he explains them. Hell, he even makes history exciting. But when it come to Astronomy, he just drones on and on boringly. It's as if I'm sitting with Professor Binns!"

Bella watched her son bemusedly, "Lucius is passionate when it comes to the things he loves. That's why he makes Runes, Arithmancy, and History interesting. You'll have even more fun when you start Politics and Alchemy with him. But I agree with you on the fact that he's a boring person when he's not interested in something. I'm surprised Cissy isn't the one teaching you Astronomy. Our parents made sure that all of us knew everything there is to know before we turned seven"

Serpens looked up at his mother, tilting his head as he thought. He assumed "all of us" meant the third sister, Andromeda, as well. He wouldn't ask about that though. Instead, another question left his lips, "why?"

"It's a Black family tradition to name our kids after stars or constellations, and, obviously, it's important to know the meaning of the name. For example, Bellatrix is a star in the constellation Orion, its meaning is a female warrior. On the other hand, Serpens is a constellation of a serpent, a snake. Your father picked it if you're wondering"

"Huh," Serpens nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Come here," Bella pat the spot next to her on the bed. Serpens crawled gracelessly to her side, looking like an overgrown toddler. He plopped next to her and Bella chuckled as she pulled him in to her side. She wrapped an an arm around his back and reached out with her other one towards her wand. Serpens just relaxed and snuggled deeper into his mother's side. "Your father is going to be so very angry that you skipped class, and I won't accept this behavior in any of your other classes. Your grades must get better," he heard his mother speak sternly. Serpens nodded in agreement. He knew his parents were right, his past grades were pitying.

"Now," Bella said as she waved her wand in a circle, a grey mist emanating from it, "what were you supposed to study today?"

"Uh. The zodiacs. Uncle Lucius wanted to start with Leo, because it's my sign"

Bella nodded and waved her wand again. Suddenly, the mist started taking a formation and Serpens could finally see what it was doing, it was turning into a 3D image of the constellation.

"Woah! That's so cool! How did you do that?!"

Bella smiled at her son's excitement, "it's an old Black family spell, passed on from parent to child. I'll teach it to you later if you want"

"Of course I want to learn it!" Serpens exclaimed as he stared at the constellation in front of him. It looked almost like the Patronus charm but with stars.

"So, imagine this..."

* * *

Tom slammed his bedroom door open, anger radiating off of him in waves. He'd just found out from Lucius that his son had decided to ditch his Astronomy lesson. Tom walked into his bedroom to the sight of his lover sitting on the bed with the aforementioned son, cuddling and looking at a hologram of the stars. Bella looked up when the door slammed open, waving her wand quickly to make the image disappear.

"Go to your room," she told her son.

Serpens glanced at Tom nervously before doing as he was told. Tom waited until Serpens closed the door before exploding, "he ditched his class! And you just let him!"

Bellatrix sighed and got out of the bed, walking towards Tom. She stood behind him and massaged his shoulders, "calm down, Tom. He's taking Astronomy with Lucius, and you know how Lucius gets when he's not interested in the subject. I've an idea to help him, though. I want to teach him Astronomy"

Tom turned around to look at her, "you want to teach him Astronomy?"

"Why not? It's a Black tradition for parents to teach it to their kids. You know that I would've taught it to all of our kids if..." Bella had trouble finishing her sentence, so Tom just nodded and leaned down to kiss her head.

"But I'm still having a word with him about this. He shouldn't ditch his classes. Not to mention how impolite it is"

"I didn't tell you to not lecture him. By all means, do it. I'm just telling you to not be too harsh on him for it. He deserves a slap on the hand, not a bat to the head. He's trying his best, Tom"

Tom nodded. Bella was right. Serpens was trying his best, and one little setback shouldn't result in harsh punishment. And it's not like Serpens didn't learn anything today... Tom knew the charm Bella had been using when he entered. So, all was good.

"Now, how about you stop thinking about Serpens and start thinking about me?" Bella said, smiling seductively as she ran her hand down his chest. Tom groaned as her fingers reached his crotch. It's been too long...

* * *

"Tom? You called?"

Serpens walked nervously into his father's study. He was in trouble, he knew that much.

"Yes. Sit down," Tom ordered. Serpens sat in front of Tom, wringing his hands anxiously.

"I believe you know why you're here," Tom started. Serpens nodded.

"A verbal answer, Serpens. It's polite to give a verbal answer"

Serpens gulped, "yes. I know why I'm here"

"And why might that be?"

"I skipped my class with Uncle Lucius"

"Yes. You skipped a class with your Uncle, who has been kind enough to take the time from his busy schedule to come teach you. It was impolite and uncalled for, and don't get me started on the fact that you need these classes, since you're failing at school"

Serpens hung his head dejectedly, his father was right. But Lucius had been boring to death!

"However, I realize you're having trouble with Lucius in Astronomy, so I've decided that he won't be teaching you the subject anymore"

Serpens raised his head, surprised and confused, "who will teach me it?"

"Your mother"

Serpens grinned happily.

"I take it you've no problem with that?"

"Are you kidding me? Mum makes Astronomy so much fun. She told me all about Leo and Virgo today! It's so cool, Tom!"

Tom smiled with amusement, "I can imagine. Anyways, going back to our first issue, you will have to apologize to your uncle for disrespecting him by skipping class"

"Alright"

* * *

"I've been told that you're Slytherin's Seeker"

"I am"

"Then what do you think of going outside to fly for a bit?"

"Seriously?"

"I don't see why not. I was the Beater back when I attended Hogwarts"

Orion jumped out of bed, moving to walk side by side with his mother, "Draco is our Beater. He used to be Seeker before me, but then everyone agreed that Draco was a better Beater than Seeker"

Bellatrix nodded, "makes sense that you're a great Seeker. Your father was one of the greatest Seekers. If he had desired it, he could've been a professional Seeker for any team he wanted"

"Huh... I didn't know that"

At that point, mother and son had made it to the yard. Bella tossed a broom to her son, who caught it easily.

"Race?" Orion asked as he kicked off of the ground.

"Yes, first to complete a whole turn around the manor wins," Bella said just before speeding off.

"Hey! No fair!" Orion screamed as he dashed after her.

"Slytherins play dirty! Isn't that what the houses say?!" Bella laughed. Orion chuckled and sped up. The duo was halfway through with their race when another person jot up into the air. He rose with unrivaled speed and stopped only a few meters ahead of the mother and son, forcing them to stop their brooms forcefully.

"Woah! You weren't kidding when you said Father's great!" Orion breathed.

Bella didn't pay attention to the comment as she moved closer to Tom, "what's wrong?"

At that point, Orion realized that his father wasn't there to play with them. Orion frowned and approached his parents to hear them better.

"You must come to the dining room immediately. There is some urgent news we must discuss," Tom spoke grimly.

Bella and Orion glanced at each other, agreeing silently that their race could be rescheduled. The three then descended quickly, relocating to Tom's study, where Serpens was already waiting.

"Tom! What are we gonna do?! He's gonna come after me!" Serpens spoke anxiously.

"Who's going to come after you?" Bella furrowed her eyebrows.

Tom handed both her and Orion copies of the _Daily Prophet._ Bellatrix raised a questioning eyebrow before looking down at the article.

 _ **x**_

 _ **ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN**_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _My dear readers, I'm afraid I have some very disconcerting news. Yesterday, during the dead of night, two dangerous wizards escaped from Azkaban. The escaped fugitives are none other than Albus Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley._

 _My loyal readers would know that the convicts have been investigated recently for being involved in heinous acts. Albus Dumbledore was taken in for kidnap, negligence, breaking and entering, and ordering murder._ _Arthur Weasley's charges include breaking and entering and being involved in illegal activities._

 _An Auror on the team investigating the case gave one comment, "few is known at the moment, but from what we have, we can deduce that Dumbledore had to free Weasley. Weasley is not near powerful enough to be able to escape on his own, whereas Dumbledore is"_

 _During such devastating times, I urge everyone to take extreme care. Both wizards are armed and Dumbledore is immensely powerful. I urge you to call the Auror department if you see either of the convicted wizards and, please, do not engage. Both wizards are dangerous._

 ** _x_**

"For some reason, I have not been informed of this before. However, Severus confirmed it a few moments ago, so did Lucius' sources in the Auror department. It's a great strategical move, implements fear and disconcert in the public, brings everyone's walls up, makes it that much more difficult for me to enact much of my plans. I knew he was up to something when he accepted his sentence," Tom informed the other three.

Each of them had different emotions playing on their faces; Serpens wore a look of anxiety mixed with fear, Orion looked bewildered, and Bellatrix seemed to be both panicking and on the verge of murdering someone.

"He won't hurt us. Not this time. I won't allow it. We're safe here in Slytherin Manor. He's not able to find us here," Tom told them, determination laced with every word.

Before any of them could respond, Tom was called through his mark. Pulling his sleeve upward, he touched his Master Dark Mark and heard Lucius' voice in his head, requesting an urgent Floo call. Tom sighed as he summoned Floo powder and started a call to Malfoy Manor. He put his head through to find an annoyed Lucius on the other side.

"Tom, Sirius Black is here. He's demanding to see Serpens, Orion and Bellatrix"

* * *

 **Who knew that would happen? Me, obviously *shrugs*. Anyways, quick question,**

 **What do you want to see happen?**

 **Welp, that's it for now. Reviews always welcome and appreciated. To everyone who already reviewed, Thank you so much, you guys rock and you honestly keep me going.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Well, it's finally here! The next chapter! I am so sorry I didn't update before. Senior year has been so crazy up till now. I hope things get better soon so I can spend more time writing. Anyways, have fun with this one…**

* * *

"Sirius! Sit down! They'll be here when they're ready!"

"Really, Narcissa, what do they have to be ready for?!" Sirius snapped.

"Well," Narcissa pursed her lips disapprovingly, "you did drop by unexpectedly. Neither Serpens nor anyone else was in a state to welcome a guest. Not to mention how rude you're being when you're at fault. Also, I'd like to know how you managed to pass by the wards and prevent us from magically sending you away"

"Ah, perfect little Narcissa, just as always. Will you stop with the act?! We grew up together! I've seen you outside the perfect housewife role!"

Narcissa narrowed her eyes, "I wouldn't have to "act" as you call it, if you had taken up your duties as the Heir of the House of Black. You chose to dishonor and disgrace yourself. You chose to leave the family. You chose this treatment"

Sirius huffed, "just as always! Sirius the one-who-was-disgraced! Sirius the disappointment! Thank Merlin for Meda! She's the only one between you who can see the madness you all live in!"

Just then, the door was pushed open forcefully and six people walked in, all of them, but one, wearing equal looks of aristocratic indifference. The last wore a look of surprise and hope.

Sirius turned to them, speaking hysterically, "ah! Finally! Lucius the prat has finally decided to come back with the family! Oh! The blond girl must be Draco Malfoy, Cissa's boy! Then there's dear old cousin Bellatrix! Tell me, cousin, how insane are you after all the torture, huh?! And oh! There's a new man in the family! Tom Riddle, right?! You're Bella's secret lover! A half-blood! But dear old Bella isn't disgraced! I wonder why! And finally! The two boys! Orion Black and Serpens Black! Judging by the looks on your faces, I'd say the one with the stick-up-his-arse look is Orion and the other is Harry!"

By the end of Sirius' rant, Bellatrix and Orion looked like they would murder him if no one held them back. Wisely, although he himself wanted to cast the Cruciatus on the disgraced Black, Tom reached out stealthily and held Bella's arm tightly, warning her against acting out on her rage. He had a plan and she would not ruin it. Serpens, who wore a hurt and surprised look, reached out to his brother, squeezing his shoulder in order to calm him. Next to the family of four, the Malfoy Lord and Heir both clenched their jaws and tightened their fists.

"Sirius!" Narcissa screeched, "how dare you?!"

"How dare I? How dare I?! How dare you?! You kidnapped my godson and changed him to look like some stranger and somehow fooled all of Wizarding Britain into thinking he's Bellatrix's son! I mean, Bellatrix! Of all people! You chose Bellatrix! She's not even fit to be a mother! She's a deranged bloodthirsty freak! She can't take care of Harry! Not to mention she's not supposed to anyways! Harry is James and Lily's son! This madness ends now! Harry, you're coming back with me and we'll find some way to change you back!" Sirius screamed.

Orion's eyes glowed a deep red color as he pulled out his wand, aiming it at Sirius, "Cru..."

He was cut off by a silencing charm just in time. He turned to his father angrily. He knew it had to be Tom, no one else was powerful enough to cast wandless nonverbal magic. Tom sent him a sharp look in return.

Serpens ignored them, furrowing his eyebrows concernedly as he walked towards Sirius, "Sirius, this isn't some sort of trick by the Malfoys. Bellatrix really is my mum. James kidnapped me with the help of Dumbledore. None of this is a lie. But Sirius, look, were related now! You're my cousin, now! We can be a real family!"

Sirius looked at him with confusion, "no, Harry..." he started, only to be interrupted.

"Serpens"

"What?"

"It's Serpens, now. It's my real name. It's what Dad named me," Serpens sent a small smile towards Tom.

"No, stop! Your dad named you Harry! This guy isn't your dad, James is!"

"I'm sorry, Sirius, but that's not true. My father is Tom Riddle. My mother is Bellatrix Black. And, to be honest, Sirius, I would not change that for the world"

Sirius stared speechlessly as Serpens moved to stand next to Bellatrix, who pulled him into her arms. To Sirius' shock, Serpens returned the embrace, looking even happy about it. When Sirius' ability to speak returned, he spoke sadly, "no. No son of Bellatrix is my family. I can't believe you're joining the Dark Side after everything we did for you"

Serpens stared at Sirius, hurt written all over his face. Orion, who was released from the silencing charm, took one look at his brother's pained face and started screaming, "what everything?! What did you ever do for him?! Serpens was abused and neglected for years! He grew up tortured! You think your childhood is so bad because Orion and Walburga Black were harsh on you and demanded you act like the heir you were! You think your childhood was so bad because your parents wanted you to GROW UP! Well, boo you! Serpens grew up treated like a house-elf! He wasn't fed for weeks at a time simply because he showed signs of magic! He was beat multiple times and not taken care of properly! When we found him, he was malnourished, dehydrated and anemic! He had three broken ribs that didn't heal properly! I spent three nights listening to him scream in pain as he healed them! Your "great" Light Side did not give a rat's arse over his wellbeing! Why didn't the "great" Dumbledore prevent this?! Don't come in here and bark like the stupid dog you are when you have no idea what's going on! For Salazar's sake! GROW. UP. SIRIUS. You're way past the rebellious hang-out-with-mudbloods teenage phase! You're what?! Forty?! GROW. UP."

Sirius stood shellshocked. This was the first time someone had lectured him like this in a long time, and to think it was done by a practical stranger...

Before Sirius could recollect himself, Draco spoke up, "how dare you throw accusations at us, anyways? Who are you to decide if we're Dark or not?"

Sirius turned to look at him, glaring at the Malfoy Heir, who was sporting a haughty look. Before anyone could react, he pulled Bellatrix to his side forcefully and pulled up her left sleeve. Tom quickly muttered a spell as Sirius looked down at her arm. To Sirius' shock, there was nothing.

"But how? Where's the Dark Mark?" Sirius spluttered. Bellatrix yanked her arm back and glared at him, "you're a complete imbecile"

Tom walked towards them before Bella could do anything, he cocked a questioning eyebrow as he spoke to Sirius, "clearly, you have nothing for us but ignorant rants and accusations. Unless you have anything of value, I suggest you leave"

Sirius huffed exasperatedly, "and I assume you expect me to bow down and do as you say just like all your followers, huh?"

"What did you say?" Orion asked in a dangerously low voice.

"Oh, stop with the act! I know Tom is Voldemort! Dumbledore told me!"

"Dumbledore is an old fool who kidnapped and left a child to be abused. If you choose to follow a man like that, then don't come shouting his lies in my home," Lucius drawled.

Sirius growled angrily, "and you're the cavalier of truth?!"

Tom stared Sirius down, a challenge written clearly in his eyes, "well, you're not in a position to judge, are you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sirius returned with a glare.

"Of course, you don't. It's not like you were in on they lie James and Lily Potter concocted"

"What?" Sirius gulped.

"Ah, caught in your lie…"

Serpens stared wide eyed at Sirius, his face contorted with hurt and shock. "Is it true, Sirius?"

"Harry…" Sirius tried to reach out to Serpens, who pulled back violently, "it's Serpens!"

Sirius gulped nervously, realizing he was not in a good position at the moment. He gulped again before pulling out his wand and apparating quickly.

"How did he do that?" Narcissa turned to look at Tom.

"The pendant," Tom answered.

"What?"

"The pendant. It's ancient magic in its finest forms. The pendant acts as both a portkey and an anti-Ward. Basically, it does the job of a portkey but prevents Wards from acting on the person"

Serpens furrowed his eyebrows in concern, "so this means the Order isn't weakened at all"

"I'm afraid so," Tom nodded.

The room fell into silence which was broken shortly after by Narcissa, "have the lot of you had dinner yet?"

"No," Orion answered.

"Then I'll have the house elves prepare something for you quickly. Please, make yourself comfortable at the dining table"

Lucius excused himself as he had work to do, and Narcissa made her way to the kitchen to speak with the house elves. The rest headed to the informal dining room, taking their seats silently. Narcissa entered the room shortly after, taking a seat herself. It didn't take long for the food to appear and they all dug in, hungry after the day's ordeal.

Bellatrix looked up from her plate to watch her family. They were all eating and engaging in small talk. Tears collected at her eyes as she gazed upon the people that meant the most to her. It'd been too long since she saw them all together, since they looked this peaceful, since they all looked this happy. She'd missed her family so much. She thought she'd lost them all...

And that thought was all it took for the tears to start falling and a small sob to leave her lips. Everyone turned to look at her immediately and her sobs became more pronounced.

Serpens jumped out of his chair as soon as he laid eyes on his mother. He rushed around the table and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Orion and Tom were the next to act, Orion, however, was on Bellatrix's side first, pushing Tom on his way.

"I thought I lost you all," Bella sobbed.

Serpens rubbed her back comfortingly as he whispered, "it's alright. We're alright. We're safe and we're not going anywhere"

Tom smiled sadly at Serpens' words and moved to his family's side, wrapping his arms around them all.

Behind them, Narcissa left the room, pulling Draco with her, "let's give them their privacy"

Unaware of the pair's actions, the family of four held onto each other, each of them refusing to let go.

* * *

"Tom?"

"Yes, Serpens?" Tom didn't look up from the book he was reading as he answered.

"Can you do me a favor?"

Tom put his book on the side and turned to look at Serpens, cocking an eyebrow, "you're my son. You don't ask favors from me, you request them immediately, understood?"

Serpens nodded nervously.

"A verbal answer, Serpens"

"Yes, I understand"

"Better. Now, what is it you want?"

"I... can you pull out more memories from my head? Please?"

Tom frowned, "why?"

"I... I want to remember. No. I need to remember. I need to see what it was like. I need to know"

"You want to know how much we loved you. You need to prove it to yourself. You need to prove to yourself that this is all real"

"Y-yes"

"Alright," Tom sighed.

"W-what?"

"I said alright. I'll fish out more memories from your head"

* * *

"I know you don't remember it or understand me, but I need to ask. Why did you do it, Dad? What were you thinking ending a life? A life of an innocent child? Why? Why?! How could you?!"

The grey-haired man stared at him, not understanding. A soft sob left his lips once the man started blabbering incomprehensibly.

"I don't want this. I don't want to live with the guilt of what you did. It's… It's not my fault… but I spent my whole life hating your victims… I might as well be as guilty as you are… Merlin… how monstrous can you be to kill a little child?"

The man kept blabbering like a babe, unaware of the boy in front of him.

"No more"

* * *

 **Whew, that's it for now. Thank you to all the people that have reviewed before, you guys give me the inspiration and motivation to continue. I would just like to ask you one question this time,**

 **What would you like to see happen?**

 **Reviews always welcome**


	11. Chapter 11

**God, it's been so long. I have been so stressed with Senior year and kicking off/managing my school's new club. Things are starting to quiet down now, so I'm going back to working on this fic, which I love so much. Anyways, enough boring you with the details of my life. Without further ado, the new chapter...**

* * *

Darkness. _That's all he could see. Darkness and that tiny little light from the side of the room. Then there was the uncomfortable feeling in his tummy and he was bawling. The lights were turned on almost immediately after his cries started. A tall, beautiful woman entered the room, tying the knot of her robe. He cried more as he saw her, needing her to attend to the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach._

 _"Oh, my baby, what's wrong?" The woman asked as she picked him up._

 _He immediately felt safe and calmer in her arms, yet the uncomfortable feeling remained._

 _"Let's see... well, you haven't dirtied your nappy... and you're not a fussy baby... and what time is it? Ah, that's why, it's time for your feeding. Is that it? Are you hungry? Is Mummy's little boy hungry?" She cooed as she moved to sit on the rocking chair, him in her arms._

 _She loosened her robes and pulled the material along with her nightgown aside. She changed his position so he was nestled to her breast and could feed comfortably. He immediately took the nipple in his mouth and started sucking, relaxing as the uneasy feeling in his tummy disappeared._

 _The woman smiled softly as she lovingly brushed the small tuft of dark hair on his head. He hummed in content as he suckled happily._

 _"My baby boy. One day, you're going to grow to be your Daddy's right hand. One day, you'll take your rightful place as the Dark Prince. One day, you'll achieve greatness. But for now, you're just my baby boy and I love you so much. Don't grow up too fast, baby"_

 _He didn't understand any of it, but he relaxed when she spoke. Her voice was soothing. Slowly, his vision became blurry and darker. It became darker and darker until there was nothing._

* * *

"That feeling"

"I know. It's a bit overwhelming visiting memories from early childhood, because there is no thinking, only feeling. As a newborn, or a baby, you have yet to develop your mental abilities and thus have no clear understanding of the world around you. You only know your physical feelings and some of your most basic emotional ones, such as that feeling of safety you felt in Bella's arms. It's the more primal parts of ourselves"

"Will it always be like that?"

"Yes"

"Oh"

"Yes. Now, you have a lesson soon. Go get prepared"

"Ok. Alright, Tom. Don't look at me like that! I will get ready!"

"Serpens," Tom said warningly.

"Fine. Ok. I won't be late this time. I promise"

"You better. I've pulled many strings for this. You better start taking this seriously"

"I will. Thank you, Tom"

* * *

Serpens was studying in his study when he heard a tapping noise from his window. He turned to look for the source of the sound, only to find Hedwig. Serpens grinned as he moved to open the window, letting Hedwig inside. It had been so long since he'd last seen her. Hedwig squeaked and flew inside, dropping a package on his desk before standing on his shoulder. Serpens rubbed her head and sat down. He was about to open the package when a voice stopped him.

"Stop!"

Serpens looked up, finding Orion, "what? Why? I want to see what I got"

"You just got a package from an unknown source, Serp. You need to make sure it's clean first"

"Clean?"

"Won't bring you harm in any way. Someone who wants to bring you harm could send you a cursed or poisoned letter, package, gift, anything really. That's why we don't open anything we receive"

"Oh. How do we know if it's clean?"

"It's a set of spells. They don't teach it at Hogwarts, although they should. I swear that place has gone to the dogs. Father will make sure it's up to standards again once he's taken over. Anyways, I can show you now if you want"

Serpens nodded and Orion approached the desk, pulling out his wand and casting a number of spells on the package. A few moments later, Orion nodded in approval, "the package is clean. You can open it if you want"

"Woah. That's cool. Will I learn how to do this?" Serpens asked.

"Obviously. You're the son of the Dark Lord now. You must know these things. Anyways, we're running late for dinner. Mother will kill us if we don't show up soon. She sent me to get you, actually"

* * *

Serpens plopped down on his chair, staring at the package sitting on his desk. He pulled it closer to himself and started unwrapping it. He was quite curious over what he had been sent. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when he found a bunch of parchment. He pulled out the first one, quickly realizing they were letters.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _They told us to make this short! Can you imagine?! We haven't heard of each other in so long and they expect me to make this short! Anyways, how are you? What happened with you? Are you alright? Sirius says you joined the Dark Side. Is that true? I hope not. Honestly, Harry, I don't know what to believe anymore. If those people really are your family, then I'm happy for you. You deserve to be happy. Just don't let them pressure you into anything. Stay who you are. I miss you so much. I love you, Harry. You're my best friend._

 _Sincerely,_  
 _Hermione_

 _Harry,_

 _I thought we were friends but I guess I was wrong. How could you just leave us like this? How could you betray us after everything we went through? You sent my dad to AZKABAN. You went to MALFOY'S side. How could you?!_

 _Ron_

 _Dear Serpens,_

 _Heads up, we're supposed to send you letters to make you feel guilty or something so you'll come back to "our" side. Anyways, we want to say we're sorry for what our dad did to you. You shouldn't have gone through such a thing. You deserve to have a loving family and be happy, even if they're the Malfoys. Come to think of it, the Malfoys aren't as bad as Mom and Dad make them out to be. We hope you're enjoying your time and that we can still be friends._

 _Your local pranksters,_

 _Gred and Forge_

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I'll admit I was devastated when I heard the news. I can't imagine how you feel. I'm so sorry that James did this to you. But Harry, please, don't let this ruin you. I still love you. It doesn't matter who birthed you. You're still family to me. Don't let the excitement of finding biological family make you push away the people that truly care for you. We all miss you. We all still love you._

 _Love,_

 _Remus_

 _P.S: I know you're probably worried about Sirius. He's been in a sort of depression ever since he got back from the Malfoys'. He won't speak to anyone, not even me._

 _Dearest Harry,_

 _I'm so sorry for what my husband did to you. No one deserves to go through that. But Harry, I want you to know that I still care for you. I want you to know that this doesn't define you as a person. You're who you choose to be. Just because the woman who birthed you is Dark doesn't mean you have to be as well. You are your own person. Your real family is the one you choose and love. I always hoped we could be that for you. I always cared about you like you were my own. Please make the right choice._

 _Love,_

 _Molly_

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I wanted to tell you, Harry, that this doesn't matter. You're still Harry. Just Harry. It's still not late. You can come back now and we'll all forgive you. Harry, those Malfoys are real bad people. You don't want to stay with them. And let me tell you, so is that Tom Riddle. He and I went to Hogwarts at the same time. He got me expelled. He's a very bad person, Harry. Don't trust them. Be safe and come back._

 _Hagrid_

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I know we're not that close but I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry that you had to go through what you did. You deserve happiness, Harry, but I don't think that happiness is with the Malfoys. Just come back. We'll all forgive you. We all understand._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Ginny_

Serpens stared speechlessly. He didn't know how to feel or what to do. He certainly hadn't expected this. He didn't know what to do. He just knew he couldn't go back. He couldn't leave his new family. He couldn't leave the people that have showered him with love from the moment they found him. He couldn't leave Orion. He couldn't leave his Mum. He couldn't leave Tom. He couldn't leave Uncle Lucius or Aunt Narcissa. He couldn't even leave Draco or Severus, who he still had a bit of a rocky relationship with. Those people meant the world to him now. He was still getting used to them, yes, but that didn't mean he didn't care for them. But what about the people from his past? He hadn't given them a second thought. He hadn't thought about their feelings or how much he hurt them. What sort of person was he? How could he just leave them the way he did?! They'd treated him like family. He'd thought of them as that. How could he do this to them?!

"Ready for bedtime, darling?"

Serpens jumped in surprise. He looked towards the doorway, finding the source of the voice, "Mum, you startled me"

"I can see that," Bella cocked an amused eyebrow, "come on, it's time for bed"

Serpens nodded and went about his nightly routine. He jumped into bed after he was done, snuggling into Bellatrix's side. Bella could see her son was distressed about something, but she decided to give him some space. She wouldn't breathe down his neck on every little thing. He'll tell her when he's ready. Serpens waited as his mother pulled out her wand, casting the "Star Charm" as he came to call it. He watched as a new constellation materialized in front of him.

"Tonight, I'll tell you all about Ophiuchus and Serpens"

Serpens snorted, "the snake"

"Yes"

With that, Bellatrix launched into a passionate explanation about legends and tales of stars. She spoke until Serpens was too tired to understand. At which point, she dissolved the hologram and fixed the blankets around her son. Serpens barely registered anything as she tucked him in, only noticing her gentle kiss on his forehead after she was done.

"Mummy," he whispered.

"Yes, darling?" Bella smiled.

"I never want to leave you," he said sleepily.

"And you never have to. Not again. You're finally in your rightful place. Sleep. I love you, my baby"

* * *

 **Welp, that's it for now. I hope to update again soon. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.**

 **As always, reviews welcome, even haters, I like to laugh**


	12. Chapter 12

**Another chapter! Hope y'all love it**

* * *

 _There was a touch. Then it was there again. And it repeated. And he felt it once more. He slowly opened his eyes, searching for the source of the repetitive touch. He found her standing in front of his crib, a pout on her lips._

 _"Wake up, Serpy," she hissed._

 _He understood it. It wasn't in that weird way Mummy spoke. The girl said it in the way Daddy spoke, with hisses._

 _"No. Sleep," he hissed back._

 _"Wake up, Serpy. I want to play," she repeated._

 _"Play?" He sat up immediately. Playing was always more attractive than sleeping, and that's saying something. He loved sleep._

 _"Yes. Play," she said just before scowling really hard at the crib. Suddenly, all the bars of the crib disappeared and the girl grinned._ _She pulled him out of the crib, placing him on the ground as gently as a three year old could. He hissed and pouted when he bumped roughly to the ground._

 _"Sorry, Serpy, I didn't mean to hurt you," the three year old smiled cheekily._

 _He pouted for a moment more before grinning and crawling towards the toy box in the corner. He pulled out a toy dragon and smiled toothily when the three year old toddled towards him. Before they could move any further, however, a stern voice interrupted them, "what are you two doing?"_

 _The children froze, knowing they were in trouble. They slowly turned to look at the source of the voice. Their mother stood there, leaning against the door with her arms crossed over her chest. She cocked a questioning eyebrow and the children smiled sheepishly. Their smiles quickly dropped when they noticed their father appearing behind their mother. They lowered their eyes and pretended to look guilty._

 _"Really, now, that won't work on us. Maybe on the servants, but not us," Tom stated._

 _"Tom, dear, you deal with Serpens. I'll take Polaris back to her room," Bella sighed, picking up her scowling daughter._

 _"You two are little Slytherins in the making," Tom chuckled as he carried Serpens, who didn't really understand what his Daddy was saying._

 _"Daddy say what?" Serpens hissed._

 _"It doesn't matter," Tom hissed back with a smile._ _Serpens nodded and snuggled into Tom's chest, hiding his face, "long time no see Daddy"_

 _"Yes. You haven't seen me in a long time. I was busy. We'll speak more in the morning. You have to sleep now"_

 _"I not sleepy," Serpens yawned, still trying to spend time with his father._

 _"Of course not," Tom said, amusement lacing his voice. He stared at the crib and chuckled before making new bars appear. He made sure Polaris wouldn't be able to vanish those ones before placing Serpens inside. He then started hissing a soft lullaby in parseltongue. He kept hissing it until Serpens was consumed by sleep once again._

* * *

"That's your last memory of Polaris"

"No! That can't be all of it!"

"I'm sorry, Serpens, but it is," Tom told him gently.

They sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating what this meant. Finally, it was Serpens who broke it with a question, "does this mean we'll visit memories of you now?"

Tom didn't answer. Instead, he stared at Serpens for a long moment, considering what he would tell his son.

"I'm afraid... we won't be able to"

"What? Why?"

"We just can't, alright?"

"No. You're hiding something"

"No, I'm not. Even if I was, you snapping at me won't make me tell you. You should be grateful, anyways, that I pulled out this much from your head," Tom snapped angrily.

"You don't really care about me! God! You're just as bad as the Dursleys!" Serpens screamed before running to his room.

Tom stared at the door his son left from, dumbfounded. After he finally registered what happened, he got up to follow, only to be stopped by a, "I'd let him be for a while if I were you"

Tom turned to the source of the voice, "Bella, how long have you been here?"

"Long enough to know that you don't want him to know what happened," she said, approaching him.

"I can't let him know. He'll hate me"

"You don't know that. Anyways, he'll find out eventually, better you tell him than someone else"

* * *

"You've been in a bad mood recently"

"Tom tell you about our fight?"

"He didn't have to tell me. You're agitated about something. What is it? You can tell me"

"I... I'm so confused, Mum, and I'm scared. I don't know what to do," he sniffled.

Bellatrix pulled her son into a tight hug as he started crying. He pulled out of the hug after he calmed down, moving to pull something from under his bed. "I got these a week ago," he explained as he handed the package in his hands to his mother.

She went through them quickly, eyebrows furrowing with anger and confusion. "How dare they?!" She shrieked when she was done reading the letters.

"Mummy," Serpens whimpered. Bellatrix took one look at her son and forced herself to calm down for him. She pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"You have to tell your father about this. I'm afraid I can't help you, but I'm sure he can"

"No. Tom is hiding things"

Bella sighed, "the thing Tom is hiding is not as important as this. Serpens, you have to understand that he'll tell you when he's ready, and that's not now. He'll tell you eventually"

"But he's my dad. He's not supposed to hide things from me"

"On the contrary, Serp. Parents hide things from their kids all the time. We do it to protect you. One day, when you have your own children, you'll understand. Anyways, are you actually upset because he's hiding things or because he won't pull out the memories?"

"You know about that?"

"Of course I do. I'm your mother"

"Oh"

"Come now. Your father must see this"

* * *

Serpens gnawed on his lips as he watched his father read the letters. Once Tom was done, he placed them on his desk and stared at him, an unreadable expression on his face. After a long time, Tom finally spoke, "you're still unsure if you are doing the right thing by joining my side. You want to believe that we truly do care for you but you can't. You still hope that the people on the other side still care for you. It's difficult, I know. I'll tell you what, write a letter to either Fred or George. Tell them to meet you in three days time with all the people who wrote you letters at this location," he scribbled an address on a piece of parchment and handed it to Serpens, "Lucius, Narcissa, and your mother will accompany you. Don't let them know that part"

Serpens nodded and rushed to write the letter.

* * *

The day of the meeting couldn't come fast enough for Serpens. He'd received a confirmation from the twins a day after he'd sent his letter. He'd asked about the location and Tom had told him that it was one of the Black family's old estates, barely used anymore.

When the day of the meeting finally came, Serpens was shaking nervously as he went through his daily routine. He dressed in all black and broke the color with a bit of silver, which complemented his eyes exquisitely. He styled his hair back properly, smiling grimly when it stayed in place. Last but not least, he put on a silver necklace with a snake pendant. Tom had given it to him the night before. It was an emergency portkey and would bring him to Malfoy Manor, where the rest would be waiting.

Serpens sighed as he studied himself in the mirror. After a few moments, he walked to the living room, where his family was waiting. They flooed to Malfoy Manor, where they had breakfast with the Malfoys before Serpens left with Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Lucius. The four only had to wait a few minutes before the Floo activated and one by one, people from Serpens' past stepped into the old house. First, it was Remus, then Molly, then Hagrid, then the Twins, followed by Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and, surprisingly, Neville last.

Bella and Lucius stood on either side of Serpens while Narcissa stood next to Bellatrix.

"Harry!" Hagrid was the first to move forward, not paying attention to anything as he moved to hug the teenager. Just as he started moving, however, Bellatrix stepped in front of Serpens, her wand aimed high as she snarled, "one more step and I'll curse you!"

Hagrid stopped in his tracks. He stared angrily at Bellatrix and turned to look at the others with him. They'd pulled out their wands and aimed it at Bella just as the Malfoys pulled out their own wands and aimed them at the group of seven.

"You have five untrained children and only two capable adults. Bellatrix, Narcissa, and I are each capable of dueling three trained wizards at once. The odds are not in your favor. I suggest you lower your wands immediately," Lucius drawled.

Serpens took one look at the scene and turned to his past friends, "please. I didn't come here to fight. I came to talk to you. Please lower your wands. I promise they won't hurt you if you don't do anything. They're only here to protect me"

Neville was the first to lower his wand, followed by the twins, then the others slowly did the same. Serpens sighed with relief when his mother, aunt and uncle finally lowered their wands as well. He then gave a strained smile as he started introducing his family, "guys, this is my mum, Bellatrix Black, and my aunt, Narcissa Malfoy, and my uncle, Lucius Malfoy. Aunt Narcissa, Uncle Lucius, you know them all. Mum..."

"I already know most of them. That's the mutt Lupin, the imbecile Hagrid, the blood-traitor Molly Weasley and that's no doubt her children"

Serpens cringed as he saw everyone, but Neville (again surprising him), turn red with anger.

"Yeah, that's Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny, and the other two are my friends Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom"

Lucius sneered and Narcissa stared disdainfully while Bellatrix glared at them all, although she made a point of ignoring Neville, "if you even try to harm my son, I'll curse you so bad the Healers at St. Mungos won't know what to do"

Molly narrowed her eyes at Bellatrix, unsure of how to respond to the witch. The room fell into a tense silence, broken finally by Serpens, who spoke agitatedly, "will you all calm down?! I didn't invite you here to fight! All I wanted was to speak to you but you won't even stop glaring at my family long enough to look at me!"

At that, the group of nine had the decency to look guilty. The first two to move were Fred and George, who approached him with small smiles. They pulled him into a hug, which was rather awkward as they had never hugged before. "They don't know about the letters' purpose. It was all Dumbledore and his circle. They just told us to write how we feel," Fred whispered in his ear.

"So they all truly care?" Serpens asked.

"Yes," George answered.

"Alright," Serpens said as he pulled out of the hug. Hermione was the next to pull him into an embrace, followed by Hagrid, then Molly. Ron and Ginny stood to the side, refusing to approach him, while Neville stood awkwardly, waiting for the others to finish speaking to him first. Remus was the last to approach him, smiling sadly before pulling him into his arms.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," he whispered.

After they separated, Serpens decided to tell them all what happened to him after the trial, even though Bellatrix advised him against it. He'd comforted her by promising not to reveal the truly important things.

"I don't think I have to tell you everything from the start, right? You've all read the news?" After receiving nods of affirmation from everyone, Serpens started speaking again, "well, I think what you need to know is that my family has taken great care of me. There's really no need to worry. I've been spending the past weeks doing many things. I'm getting private classes to help me get back on track with my education and I've spent most of my free time just getting to know my family, bonding with them, and to be honest, I love them. But that doesn't mean I don't love you all. I've missed you all so much and I don't want to lose any of you. That's why I'm here today. I hope you can accept and care for Serpens just as you did for Harry"

Remus smiles gently, "Of cour..."

"You've sunk so low," Ron interrupted.

"What?" Serpens furrowed his eyebrows with concern.

"You've sunk so low. Joining the Dark Side? Going along with their lies? Speaking ill of Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of our time? Getting my dad into AZKABAN? You've sunk so low, Harry. You're not the person I thought you were"

Serpens stared at Ron's angry face, hurt at his words and unable to say anything. Bellatrix was about to hex Ron into oblivion when Narcissa placed a hand on her shoulder, silently communicating why that would be a bad idea. Bellatrix glared at her for a moment before swallowing her anger, knowing her sister was right.

Meanwhile, Remus had gotten out of his chair and was kneeling in front of Serpens, speaking sincerely, "Harry, Serpens, whatever. It doesn't matter. To me, you'll always be the little troublemaker with a boggart of a dementor and the Marauder's Map. That is, unless you turn into a homicidal maniac. Then, we're gonna have a long discussion about why that's wrong and why you could do better"

Serpens grinned. Remus was the first person to accept him just as he is. The joy was not to last though, "HARRY, NO. Professor Dumbledore is the good guy! Yeh can't join the Dark Side. They're bad people. Those Malfoys are bad people. Tom Riddle as well. They're all bad!" Hagrid exclaimed.

Lucius rolled his eyes at the half giant's argument while both Narcissa and Bellatrix seemed unimpressed.

"They're not bad, Hagrid," Serpens defended, a scowl on his face.

"No, Hagrid's right, Harry. The Malfoys and Bellatrix really are terrible people. You have no idea what they've done. Bellatrix tortured the Longbottoms into insanity and Lucius is a Death Eater"

That time, Narcissa didn't even try to calm Bellatrix, who had turned to the Weasley matriarch with a feral look on her face.

"The Longbottoms killed Polaris! They fucking killed my baby girl! I wouldn't expect **you** to understand that though because your head is filled with crap Dumbledore has fed you! I spent thirteen years in AZKABAN for my "terrible actions"! None of you looked twice at the fact that my daughter was murdered! Because Dumbledore was in charge of my case! Because that's how your corrupt system works! That's how Dumbledore works! And you all still insist he's the greatest wizard! You're all fucked up!"

Bellatrix was about to commit murder, Serpens just knew it in his gut, so he got up quickly and moved to stand in front of his mother, he pulled her into a hug forcefully and whispered, "Mum. Mummy. Mummy, please, calm down. I don't like seeing you hurt, Mummy"

Immediately, Bellatrix started to relax, if only for her son.

After he was certain that she wouldn't kill Mrs. Weasley the moment she laid eyes on her, Serpens pulled out of the hug, turning back to the people in the room. "This is going to be a long day," he sighed.

* * *

 **And that's it for now. Reviews welcome as always. Suggestions appreciated.**

 **To those that have commented before, thank you so much, it means a lot. You guys rock!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Finally done with this one... and my latest research... whew... welp, here it goes...**

* * *

Serpens watched as one by one, his past friends started leaving, the ones who had nothing more to say to him, at least. Ron had screamed at him for some time, Ginny only told him how disappointed she was, and Hagrid had continued to try and convince him his family was bad, eventually giving up and leaving. What had shocked him most up till now had been the fact that the Weasley twins had told him they were planning on leaving their family.

"We're not planning on becoming Death Eaters,"

"Yet," Fred had joked.

"But we are planning on leaving, figure things out, maybe start our own shop"

Serpens had felt a bit of worry for them, as he knew how difficult that would be on the two brothers. He'd almost protested, but a shake of George's head told him otherwise.

"It's our choice"

"Has nothing to do with you"

Serpens had nodded reluctantly and watched as they flooed back home, their mother following behind after a last embrace. The only ones left were Hermione, Neville, and Remus.

Hermione ran over to him, hugging him like their lives depended on it. Serpens saw his family sneer with disgust out of the corner of his eye and sighed as pulled out of Hermione's embrace slightly.

"I'm sorry, Mione"

"For what?" Hermione asked confused.

"For how my family's treating you"

"It's not your fault, Harry"

"Serpens"

"Oh... right..."

Silence fell between them for a moment, and Hermione broke it with a sad sigh, "Serpens, are you truly planning on supporting them?"

Serpens stared at her for a moment, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you truly going to become a Dark wizard? A Death Eater?"

Serpens pursed his lips, thinking about how best to answer her question, finally replying with what Tom had taught him earlier on, "Hermione, is a gun bad?"

"Of course guns are bad. They're used in all kinds of terrible actions. Criminals use them to murder others. But what does that have to do with things?"

"No, Hermione, is a gun, in and of itself, without human use, bad?"

Hermione thought about it, giving in with a "no, I guess not"

Serpens nodded, "its the same with magic. Magic, in and of itself, cannot be classified as evil or good, Dark or Light. That's what Dumbledore wants you to believe, but Tom has been teaching me the truth. Hermione, all 'Dark' curses, as the Order calls them, can be used for good, and have a 'Light' counterpart. Hermione, you can use fairly Light magic for evil. I mean, you could torture someone and kill them by drowning using _Aguamenti_ , or you can kill them immediately with the Avada"

Hermione looked horrified for a bit, but then her expression turned thoughtful. Serpens saw Remus approaching them from the corner of his eye and motioned to Hermione. She hugged him one last time, reassuring him that she still cared, before turning and leaving using the floo.

"I couldn't help but hear your conversation," Remus started.

Serpens sighed and looked him in the eye, "you can't convince me to change my mind"

"I know I can't. I don't condone your actions, but you're resolved to them. Just promise me you won't go too far in them"

"Too far as in kill people..." Serpens stated more than asked.

"Yes," Remus sighed.

"Remus, we're living a war. I can't promise you that. When the time comes, and it will come, people like Dumbledore will be out there fighting to kill, not disarm. I'm not going to let them get me"

Remus sighed, the teenager had a point, even if Remus himself did not want to admit it, "then promise me you won't lose sight of the good person you are"

Serpens had no qualms with this one, "I promise"

Remus nodded and moved to back away, but Serpens caught his arm. He turned back to the boy with a questioning look and Serpens started speaking.

"Remus, this might be only a tiny comfort, but Tom is planning on truly putting an end to werewolves biting wizardkind. If Tom wins, no one will have to suffer like you did"

"Did he tell you to tell me that? Is that your attempt at turning me?"

"No! I just thought it would bring you a semblance of comfort"

"Goodbye, Serpens"

Serpens shoulders fell, "Goodbye, Remus"

Remus left to stand by the floo then, giving space for Neville to finally approach Serpens, who had been wondering why the other boy had come along.

"Hey, Serpens," Neville started nervously.

"Hey, Neville," Serpens replied kindly.

"Serpens, I just wanted to tell you that I'm very sorry about what happened to you. I honestly didn't know that my parents were the horrible people they are. I can't apologize for them, though, and I can't ask you to forgive them. But I'm asking you to forgive me. I don't stand for my parents' actions. I loath what they have done. That's why I've chosen to forsake the Order and the Light side. That doesn't mean I'm going to turn Dark though. I can't, Harry... I mean, Serpens... I can't join You-Know-Who. I can't be as evil as they are, but I also can't stand with the Light side. I'm going neutral"

"Wow," Serpens breathed once Neville was done with his little speech. He had no idea how to respond to that, so he said the most logical thing he could think of, "there's nothing to forgive. How did the others respond?"

"They don't know yet. You're the first person I told. I imagine they'll all be angry, but it's not their choice. They can't control me"

"Neville, you're gonna be in danger"

With true Gryffindor braveness, Neville nodded, "so be it"

Serpens stood there for a moment, unable to respond, and Neville took it as a cue to leave him.

"I'll see you around, Serpens"

Neville made to leave, but stopped on his way to the floo to speak to Bellatrix, who he'd been avoiding like the plague, and vice versa.

"Lady Black, I am truly sorry for what my parents have done to your family. I don't blame you for what you did. I am also truly sorry for my judgment of you all those years, you do not deserve that. I hope you can forgive me"

With that, Neville finally left the house via the floo, Remus following behind him with a last nod to Serpens.

Bellatrix stood shocked for a moment, before snapping out of it and approaching Serpens, who fell into her arms rather desperately. She held him tightly and motioned with her head to the Malfoys to leave, who did so immediately.

"How do you feel, baby? I know some of that must have hurt"

Serpens took a heavy breath before a sob left his lips.

"Oh, baby," Bellatrix coed, brushing his hair as he cried some more. After a couple minutes, he pulled back and wiped his eyes roughly, shaking his head slightly.

"I didn't think the Weasleys would hate me this much"

"Aw, baby, there's a reason we don't get along with the Weasleys. They're even more prejudiced than the Lestranges"

"But..."

"Just forget them, dear. They're not going to go back for you now that you've accepted your position as the Dark Prince"

"Fred and George are leaving the Light side. They're not planning on joining the Dark side, but they're leaving the Light side. Neville too, he's going neutral"

"Oh"

"They're all going to be in danger. The Light side won't appreciate their decision. Fred and George can take care of themselves, they're in their last year anyways. I worry about Neville"

Bellatrix sighed and thought about it for a moment, "we'll make Orion and Draco look out for him. It's an opportunity anyways, to make one more sacred family join our ranks"

"Mum!"

"What?"

"Is all you care about the fact that he could be an addition to your lines?! Don't you care about what happens to him as a person?!"

"Serp, I'm basically Lady Slytherin. I think in opportunities. It's part of the package. Plus, **you** are my son, not him. I care about what happens to **you** , not him"

"But..."

Bellatrix sighed, "you'll understand one day. Now, what happened with the others? The Mutt and the giant oaf?"

"Hagrid's given up. He doesn't approve at all. I think he might keep trying to turn me back once I return to Hogwarts, but he won't succeed. I think he'll truly give up eventually and then he'll leave me. Remus said he's with me till the end even if we're on different sides of the war. He's still fighting for the Light, but he's also going to look out for me. There's also Hermione. She's happy I found my family, but she's disgusted by the fact that I'm starting to use the Dark Arts"

Serpens didn't notice the sneer on his mother's face as he spoke of Hermione. Bellatrix could not stand to think that a mudblood had any sort of influence over her son and vowed to get rid of this toxicity from her son's life.

"Serpens, dear, you have to start moving on. Most of them have done so. Don't stick to the past. Now, move along, your father is waiting"

* * *

Once Bellatrix and Serpens got home, the Black family had dinner before Serpens was taken to his father's office. He briefed Tom over what had happened in his reunion with his friends from his past life. Tom had also been unimpressed with the Weasleys and Remus, laughing lightly when Serpens mentioned Hagrid. Serpens had wondered if Tom had a private joke or a funny encounter with the half giant that had made him as amused as he was when listening to him speak about him. He'd tried to ask but Tom had brushed it off as a story for another time.

Tom had seemed particularly pleased when Serpens spoke of his discussion with Neville and the twins, immediately getting a calculating look in his eyes. Serpens wondered what Tom's plan for them would be, as he was one hundred percent sure that Tom must have a plan for them.

"What will you be doing with them?" He eventually asked.

"You mentioned Neville was particularly adept at Herbology?" Tom asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"I shall be sending him some invaluable one of a kind scripts on the subject through Orion, as a symbol of forgiveness and a motive to move to our side. You know he doesn't actually have to kill anyone? Not all of my Death Eaters are deployed to battle. Some of them have different uses. Speaking of requirements, you need to start building your court. You're going to need them eventually"

"How can I build a court when I'm stuck in this house all the time?"

"You'll be attending social gatherings as my son soon enough. Trust me, after you start those, you're going to wish you were still stuck here"

Serpens sighed and nodded his head, already dreading it.

"Serpens?"

"yes?"

"How good are the Weasley twins at what they do?"

"They're the best. Why?"

"I shall be sending them the money that was supposed to be for the winner of the Triwizard Championship. It's enough for them to start their own shop as they want"

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 **Welp, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed it. Just a little question...**

 **Anything you'd like to see happen?**

 **Anyways, reviews welcome... always. Major thanks to all who reviewed before.**


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